Head Start
by Kratos1989
Summary: Harry Potter learnt early on in his youth that if he wanted things done right, it was best to be done himself. That decision will make all the difference when he arrives to Hogwarts. Tags are inside the foreword chapter.
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD:**

Hello to you all, my name is Kratos1989 and I am here to present to you the latest Harry Potter I had in mind, titled **[Head Start]**. This was started in my **[Potter Cauldron]** Series and quite a few people have requested for this story to be made official, so I am just getting it out there for the time being while I write more chapters for the cauldron and continue with my main stories in FSN/DxD and the rwby1989 account.

For me, I prefer stories where Harry can be smart to a certain extent and not to the point of being too overpowered unless there is a good reason for that. For this story, Harry is someone who got inspired early on to prove to himself that he would not back down without a fight, and one who is intelligent enough to ask questions that some would likely prefer not to be answered, particularly when a bad Dumbledore is involved.

Now I have read a few Harry Potter Fiction and I could tell a lot of people would like to have tags to let them know what type of story to expect in case they do not wish to read it, especially if it involves slash or something they would be sensitive of or just not their cup of tea. So just to ease everyone in, here are the current tags to describe this story.

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(Confirmed as of March 23rd 2020)

**Current Tags (Confirmed):**

1\. Scientific type Harry with a touch of mad scientist

2\. Ravenclaw House

3\. Science mixed with Magic principles, Reasonable breaks from reality (because it's magic mixed with science!)

4\. Manipulative Dumbledore

5\. Good mentor Flitwick

6\. Common sense trumping magical thinking

7\. Selective character attacks

8\. Relationships with Harry Potter: Padma / Su Li / Daphne / Tracy

**Challenges / Possible entries:**

1\. Hermione NOT a love interest (Either a friend or an enemy only)

2\. Harry not automatically accepting Sirius / Remus

3\. Neutral or Bad Snape

4\. Neutral Draco Malfoy (Not sure if Lucius and Narcissa would be neutral or bad)

5\. Trying to keep Harry realistic as possible (e.g. Harry having adults to help with politics)

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In case it is not indicative enough from the foreword of the cauldron or here, this will **NOT** be a Slash / Yaoi fic. Harry will be with a girl... or two... maybe more XD

Hope you enjoy the story!


	2. Book 1-01

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 1

**Posted Date:** February 3rd 2020

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For as long as the boy named Harry Potter could remember, he thought of himself as something of an oddity.

Harry was, for a lack of a better word, 'raised' in the house located at Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey of Britain. 'Raised' by a family of three who were supposedly his relatives from his mother's side and for some reason, hated him for something that he had no idea what it was, to the point of calling him 'Freak' or 'Boy' even after he went to school at the age of six and found out his real name when the teacher called out to him. Whatever information he could get about his parents, after getting a hit at the back of the head or getting thrown into his cupboard under the stairs, was not very comforting. Aunt Petunia seemed to relish telling him that his parents were dead-beat drunks who got killed in a car crash, leaving Harry as the sole survivor with only a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead as the only indicator. On that part, Harry had some doubts, mostly because it was his aunt telling it, but also the fact he kept having dreams of a woman who would sing to him tenderly as she held him in her arms, with the scent of lilies present quite strongly. It was those dreams that helped him at night at times when his loneliness got to him, even if it left him bittersweet in the morning.

More often than not though, he would have nightmares of said woman being attacked by someone with a sinister voice and laugh, telling her to move aside to get to him before a bright flash of green would signal his return to the waking world. Harry would always wake up in the middle of the night shivering from the chill of the night and that of the laughter that rang in his ears until he fell back into an uneasy sleep.

Harry had tried to do whatever his relatives wanted him to do in hopes of gaining their favour, even if it broke his heart that they did not acknowledge his efforts or spread lies about him. It was when he came back from school with the test results of his first semester that made it clear they wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. It had devastated him and he ended up crying his heart out in the darkness of his cupboard when Vernon threw him into it as he accused the boy of cheating.

It was while Harry sat on the swing-set in the park trying to sort his thoughts when he overheard a couple of older students arguing about their own tests and grades. One of them was evidently in a similar situation as Harry with the difference that the older kid did not care about the bully's attempts to stop his work, he was going to do his best to make his sick mother proud and prove that he would succeed where the bully failed. Those words struck a chord inside Harry; why did he keep trying to gain the attention of his relatives when they would always berate him, throw him into his cupboard and blame everything that went wrong in their lives on him? Why did he had to put up with Dudley's childish tantrums and issues while Petunia and Vernon lavished all their attention on to him? Why did he had to keep his head down while they spread lies about him being a troubled child?

Why was he dealing with the Dursleys when the people he should be proving were his own parents, to prove that he was supposedly more than his 'dead-beat drunk parents'?

**_No more._**

He had **_enough_** of their unjust punishments and lies.

He was going to do what he wanted and not have to put up with their issues any longer. Let others see their flaws and their mistakes. He would prove to them all that he was not a weakling, and he would fight his way of his home situation.

With that mindset, Harry got off the swing seat he was on and made his way to the town library where the librarian was more than happy to point him to the shelves that contained his interest. From that day onward, Harry kept making visits to that and the school library, devouring whatever information he could lay his hands on in his pursuits for knowledge. Be it simple gardening to complex mathematics, mechanics to civil laws, Harry took them all into his mind even if it was a little hard to understand for one his age. It also helped that much of the laws would help him with his home situation in case Vernon decided to take things too far.

It did not take much time for the teachers and the Dursleys to see that Harry had been making great progress in his studies and looked set to make his mark in the top twenty for the year. Vernon had shown his displeasure for his academic success by hitting him harder and starving him for longer periods, but Harry did not let that deter him. Harry had even started to store food items in the loose board of the cupboard so that he would at least have some sustenance when he had to serve his 'rightful punishments'. Dudley had whined and complained about his grades being better than his, but Harry gave them a look and stated very clearly that he would not be dragged down by someone who did not bother putting in effort in anything but eating and bullying. It did have the benefit of making them back down slightly for a time, might be the manner he delivered his words to them.

It certainly helped his case that the school staff were taking a closer look at him now that he was performing better and noted how different he was compared to Dudley. The school nurse, one of the nicer adults around, had tried to complain about the obvious abuse but people had ignored her in the beginning. Now with Dudley beginning to gain detentions and remedial lessons in conjunction with his immense weight, she was able to make some progress in fixing Harry's issues and she along with a couple of other teachers started to gather evidence in case the Dursley adults decided that Harry was going to be a bigger burden then they needed to tolerate. Harry remembered her demonstrating her colourful vocabulary when she was checking his body condition and appalled at what she found.

The teachers themselves took a good look at him and Dudley, taking note of how his cousin always had issues with even the simplest of questions and bullied those he deemed weaker than him, while Harry kept mostly to himself but stayed polite to those around him and to them while keeping track with his work, a far cry from what the Dursleys had told them about Harry being a trouble maker. From what Harry could tell, a few were troubled by how easily they fell for the Dursleys' lies and sought to make up for their actions, or in-actions, by intervening on Dudley's bullying attempts on him or others, and making sure that Harry was being challenged intellectually. One of them had even got into blows with one of the nastier teachers who was apparently friends with Vernon and had tried to dump punishments on Harry for 'taking away Dudley's intelligence'. Something that honestly dumbfounded Harry at the reaction considering the rather stupid reasoning given by the nasty teacher in his opinion.

It was around the start of his second year of school when Harry would make a discovery on the supposed 'freakishness' Vernon and Petunia kept blaming him for. Dudley did not appreciate Harry's placement in the school's rankings or the praises he would get from the teachers, and how Dudley would keep getting detentions for actions his parents had ignored or downright encouraged (much to the horror of the teachers who had to write out his detention form many times to the point they had created a new standard for his level of bullying) or the fact that Vernon was now getting stricter with him to try and get him into his old Smelting Academy. He and his motley crew of bullies would start a tradition of 'Harry Hunting' whereby they would go after Harry just so they could feel better after 'teaching the Teacher's Pet a lesson'. Harry had to run away quite often before, but at the time it was perhaps the most hectic chase he had to outrun. The boys kept cutting off his escape routes and it was only due to his size and reflexes that Harry managed to escape at the last second, but just as he was getting boxed in, Harry wished at the bottom of his heart that he could be somewhere safe from Dudley.

Then it happened.

One moment, he was ducking around the corner that led to the playground, the next moment he would find himself on the roof of the small shack at the school. Harry barely had time to stop at the edge before he swung his arms backwards to throw himself to the floor, the wind taken out of him by the suddenness of the action. It took a few minutes to get his bearings but once he calmed down, Harry felt an odd excitement bubbling inside him as he looked at his hands as though to see if he was dreaming.

He had some inkling as to what was going on, after all there was no way to explain him gaining back a full mane of hair after Petunia cruelly shaved portions of his head bald the night before, or the nasty teacher getting his hair colour changed after insulting Harry and a couple of others wrongly. There was also that time towards the end of his first year when Vernon got heavy-handed and slammed him hard against the door, breaking a couple of his ribs in the process, only to somehow be healed the next morning or at most two days time. He recalled in all those periods how angry he was for the former two, and how much in pain he was at the last, and how he wished for something to happen. In all those times, he got something that came without warning but definitely most appreciated.

On a whim, he looked to where the school library was situated, focused hard on the image and the previous emotion he had experienced before taking a step forward. A good thing he did just one step as he almost smacked his face against the door, but that did not dampen his excitement as new possibilities and ideas started to erupt from this discovery. He had actual powers at his fingertips, if he could heal from injuries and teleport from Dudley, that meant he could do other stuff that he had read from those comics he pilfered from Dudley when he was bored of them. And if he had powers, he could also protect himself from Vernon, Petunia and Dudley when they try to punish him.

He could practically do anything!

Harry managed to stop himself from getting too excited at the idea, he needed to understand more about the powers he had. He needed to know their capabilities, limitations, his overall control over them and then he needed to master them so that he could call them out easily.

At the back of his mind though, he had to wonder...

Was he the only one, or were there others?

~ooOOoo~

Harry would like to say that his first foray into understanding his powers were adventurous, outstanding or even earth-shattering, but truthfully it was a more of a hassle.

Harry first went around to finding a quiet spot to try out some basic ideas he got from comics, not an easy thing to do as Dudley kept trying to chase him with his gang, leaving very few spots that were available for him. He figured that it had to be in an area that was not too visited by the locals and a place that he could afford to experiment openly which could double as a possible hideaway if the Dursleys decided to get more creative with their punishments without the other adults catching them in the act as it had happened a couple of times. He would find the ideal spot by accident when he was running again from Dudley's gang and accidentally tripped over a rock that sent him careening through a thick bush and through an old pipeline that evidently led to the old wood factory near the waterfront. It was not really a big factory since Privet Drive was a small town, roughly four stories high and about twenty units wide. It had been stripped bare of whatever equipment there used to be with only a few odds and bits left behind and what appeared to be empty offices, but it was still standing with no obvious damage, it was dry and more importantly, it was not used by any squatters or anyone since it had been fenced off after the factory shut down for a better one.

Add in the small storage unit abandoned next to it, and it was perfect for Harry to make it his own secret hideout. Once he cleared out one of the rooms, it was time for him to try out his powers.

His first few attempts to understand his power could be described in two words, embarrassing and frustrating.

Harry would find much of his inspiration to focus his powers from the Star Wars film, specifically the idea of equating his powers to the 'Force' as it seemed to define his powers quite nicely. He had to think very clearly what had happened in the few times something odd happened around him before trying to focus on the memories and the general feelings he would have at those times. It was rather nerve wrecking when he actually felt something react inside him and traveled down his arms to his fingers before something actually happen. He likened the feeling to a small dog eager to please its master, and had to snort at the image of said puppy with its tail wagging and tongue out. It took a while to remember the sensation before he could call upon it at will.

Once he got the feeling going, Harry started to test with the teleporting ability he had the better understanding of. His first test with distance quickly showed that he could get to wherever he wanted in the factory provided he had a clear image of what he wanted without obstructions. Then he tried going to the locations he had been to his entire life, to which he found it quite easy as long as he associated the location with either a person or a feeling of the place. Harry found the latter by accident when he was thinking about the animals at the zoo and found himself near the entrance of said zoo, thankfully with no one witnessing his sudden appearance. He also found that depending on the conditions he could potentially be burnt out from the teleporting, and he needed to be certain that he wanted to move to a spot. Without it, Harry would find his face intimately introduced to the wall or the ground.

Not a nice feeling to have.

Once he got that part down, Harry started trying to emulate the common powers he read from fantasy books and comics, at least those he figured would be the easiest and safest to replicate like creating a ball of light. After all it would be useful to have a source of light when he was in his cupboard, and there was no way it could not be that bad or dangerous right?

Harry found himself rethinking that statement when his third attempt to create a viable light source succeeded in a ball of light the size of a football blinding him by accident, causing him to stumble like a blind man and accidentally hitting his head into the old pipe scaffolding.

After a few minutes Harry would have found most of his sight with a few dark spots obstructing his view and himself reassessing the amount of power he needed to use for the light. With squinted eyes and an image, he tried to make the source smaller with a lower intensity. It would take the better part of the hour and additional blinding to finally get the glowing globe to be the size of a golf ball with enough light to help him read comfortably in the dark. That session also left him drained enough to stop for the day, but that did not diminish the sense of accomplishment he had gotten from the test.

Another power he tried to emulate was the ability to conjure fireballs, admittedly an idea that came from his childish desire to act out like the wizards from the fantasy books. Harry chose the old incinerator left in the factory with the reasoning that if he accidentally did it too aggressively, he could contain it without it burning the place down. His first few attempts were quite pathetic, merely creating enough sparks to perhaps set dried tinder on fire but not an actual fireball. Around the second hour mark and after the thirty-first attempt, Harry was annoyed enough from his lack of progress that he basically threw both hands at the incinerator and just yelled in frustration. That frustrated yell became a surprised yelp as the incinerator practically exploded into flames, the heat from the flames forcing him back a few feet instinctively to avoid getting burnt.

Once he got his wits together and his heart at a normal rate, Harry tried to understand how that happened. It took him another ten minutes with a few quick pen notes for him to associate his intent and emotions to get the desired effect, at which point Harry may have discovered his inner pyromania as he targeted small objects to set on fire. At the same time, he learned how to manipulate the flames enough to either move them to another spot or to snuff them out completely. It did not take long for Harry to apply some physics into the equation and he ended up creating different variants of fire based on his understanding of hydrogen and oxygen ratio alongside other gases.

At least he now had a fire source should he find himself locked out of the house again.

Using Obi-wan's teachings and his own testing, Harry was able to summon and repel objects of reasonable mass, stimulate his own healing and even create illusions to get Dudley off his back when he was chasing him with his hunting. He was just waiting for the time that he could fly with these powers!

It would be glorious!

~ooOOoo~

Harry tried out whatever ideas he could get and got pretty far with them. By the time he hit his eighth birthday, Harry would have seven notebooks loaded with ideas, quick sketches and even rejected ideas set aside with the possibility of revisiting and tweaking. Harry felt like his mind was wanting to explode from all the ideas in his mind, but he also wanted to make sure he did not get too out of control with it. A quote from a certain comic book hero rang true to him when he had contemplated what he wanted to do with his powers. _'With great power comes great responsibility.'_ That was the phrase that stopped Harry from going crazy on the Dursleys and those who had picked on him. It was certainly tempting to give them a taste of what he had to endure, but he resisted it hard, reasoning with himself that he would fall into temptation to the darker aspects of life like Obi-wan spoke of.

That did not stop Harry from implementing a type of field around him or his 'room' that would make the Dursleys ignore him provided he did not get in their way. It certainly made things easier for him since they could not bother him that much, and it was a little amusing seeing how they tried to do things in the house without his help, thus showing how much they have loaded onto him and how much they had depended on the 'freak' to make their own lives better. It had the side benefit of letting the staff see that they were neglecting Harry and spoiling Dudley a lot to the point that Petunia was receiving fewer invitations to tea at other people's homes, Vernon was getting fewer contacts and Dudley was almost being watched the whole day at school for his issues. One of the nicer teachers had even offered to let Harry stay overnight at his place so that he could help to take care of his needs, which Harry was still considering.

It was not out of malice, it was just Harry was used to being alone for so long that he felt some pride in handling his situation, and there was the fact that Harry started feeling eyes on him after he started his training on the 'Force Sensing', by which he used his powers to sense his surroundings as a way to pick up on Dudley if he was around. At first Harry thought it was a side effect as he had used a fair bit of power, but then he started noticing a few seemingly stray cats moving around the area and following him at a distance. On a whim, Harry turned around the corner at the local bakery and moved to the roof, looking down as cats appeared at the alley and looked around. With a jolt, he recognized four of the cats as those belonging to Mrs Arabella Fig, the neighbour who had too many cats for his liking and often babysit him when the Dursleys did not want him on their trips. At a thought, he pulsed his powers at them and was shocked to find something resonating inside them. He barely drew his head back to avoid being seen as his thoughts went to overdrive at the possibility that his neighbour might know something about him and that her pets could be spies to check on him.

The idea got enhanced a few days later when he returned to Privet Drive and blinked at the odd dome of energy around it. It had a sickly look to it with threads of crimson red and sickly green moving around the surface and with notable cracks on certain spots, but what worried him was how no one else seemed to notice it with a few passing through without ill effects. He had seen some facet of it a few months into his training, but this was the first time he could see it without even focusing his powers, and it made him sick in his stomach from the general feel of it. It did not feel natural or pleasant at all, and he could not help but wonder if this was related to his life in some odd manner.

As he drew closer to the Dursleys, Harry could see the red threads pulsing brighter while the green threads extended off it and reached for him in a menacing manner. Harry felt something very wrong with them as they came closer and instinctively let loose a portion of his powers to fend them off, but evidently it was too much as the dome seemed to cave under the pressure with more cracks appearing before it completely collapsed with a loud crash reminiscent of glass windows shattering. Harry had to blink at that reaction before a sense of foreboding came upon him and he ran to the back just as the sounds of air popping filled the area.

Hidden behind the bushes, Harry saw a weird old man with a long beard dressed in robes of ridiculous colors appeared with what looked to be an actual wand and a huge frown on his face, followed shortly by two others dressed in robes as well. Harry had the bad feeling that man was there for him and decided to stick around the school area just in case. He waited a few hours in the library before returning only to find the same barrier installed again and what felt like some people waiting in the area around him without him seeing anything visible.

Harry pretended to look around in confusion as he checked their positions before moving forward to the house, creating a thin layer around his body to protect himself from the threads trying to connect to him. With another ill ease, Harry pretended to stumble to the left to avoid a ray of light hitting him from the back before using a hand to support himself and to disguise the pulse of power to push away all of the watchers at once. That resulted in another collapse of the dome and more importantly scaring the people away without knowing what it was that made them do it. Harry did however see the old man in the odd robes disappearing with a loud pop and a frown on his face as he looked at Harry with eyes that unsettled him.

Harry considered the ramifications as he laid inside the cupboard with a small globe of light hovering above and a small pipe he procured from the factory locking the door in place from the inside. It was clear that the old man had to be related to that odd barrier set up around the Durlsey's home, and considering how he was getting attacked, it meant that the people wanted him to be stuck there. This would explain why despite the efforts of the teachers and even a few of the neighbors to get the Dursleys charged with abuse, they somehow got away on an odd technicality or evidence happened to disappear with a few people suddenly forgetting. The most unsettling example was when one of his teachers tried to go to someone he knew to help, the man suddenly turned up dead in a food diner supposedly from food poisoning, which would be unnoticed by most but his other teachers knew that the man was a vegetarian who was allergic to certain food items and found it suspicious that he was found eating those same things, not to mention the reports he held that day about Harry's abuse went missing. That chilled them gravely, thinking someone was wanting to keep Harry at the Dursleys at all costs to the point of murder. The most they could do for Harry was to ensure that he was safe while slowly collecting evidence without alerting anyone.

But the wand the old man used, and the oddly familiar feeling of the power coming from them… Harry was not certain but considering the Durselys behavior, this meant that the power he had was actually something closer to magic as opposed to ESP or mutant abilities, which would explain a fair number of his creations and testing. That meant that there were people just like him with similar traits, but different in their executions.

Now he knew, or at least have an idea of what his power was.

Now he knew that he had at least one spy on him from his neighbor.

Now he knew the person, or at the least the face of the one keeping him stuck at the Dursleys.

Now… he could plan…


	3. Book 1-02

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 2

**Posted Date:** February 3rd 2020

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The day Harry found out about the possible identity of his powers and the possibility of him being a prisoner was the day Harry decided he could not afford to waste more time learning about his abilities or be stuck at the Dursleys. The fact that there was someone out there willing to do whatever it takes to force him into the Dursley household told Harry that he was in grave danger from likely dire manipulations in the future, and if his fantasy books were of any indications, that would be the 'plot-point' of his life.

There was something about his powers being considered magic that got him thinking about the versatility and meaning. Perhaps it was the manner he started to learn his abilities, or how his powers seemed to differ greatly from the wand users, or perhaps the part where said wand users were trying to attack and imprison him, but Harry did not like the idea of labeling his powers as such. Perhaps he would call it magic for the time being but continue referring to it in his head as the 'Force' or whatever the equivalent was, since he was using both the Star Wars and a more scientific approach to using his abilities as opposed to the fantastical style of manipulating it.

It _**totally**_ did not have to do with the childish fact that it sounded cooler in his mind than the word magic. Totally not the case, period.

Putting that thought away, he had to consider a lot of things at this point.

He had to watch his back and those who have been protecting him for the past couple of years.

He had to shore up the defenses for his hideaway to make sure it was not compromised.

He had to think of more ways to get away from the Dursleys.

He had to learn more of the people making him their prisoner.

He had to prepare himself for what's to come.

He would have to consider all of that when he was heading for his summer camp in less than a week.

~ooOOoo~

When Harry got to the camp, he did not realize just how much being at the great outdoors would do for his magic.

When Harry was anywhere the Dursley residence, his magic felt 'restrained' like it was bound with chains, while at his hideaway it felt a lot looser and happier of sorts. But here in the forest, it was practically jumping around inside him and Harry had the image of the puppy running in circles while chasing its tail in happiness. Harry had read about the Wicca worshiping Mother Nature and the Red Indians of America, and considering the times he had to tend to the Dursley's gardens or his own garden back at his hideaway, he could make a supposition that having a connection to nature helped his magic in more ways than one. He was thankful for his magic every day since he started to train with it, but standing in the forest, he decided to take a leaf from said Wicca and tried reaching out to the forest with his magic to let it out of sorts, and the effect was immediate as it seemed to rejoice at the freedom and at the natural energy around him, infusing him with more energy than he had ever felt and affecting the forest area with its presence.

Harry decided to keep mum about the sudden appearance of flowers flourishing at the camp site and the increased numbers of small animals visiting them.

Regardless of that little mishap, Harry could barely contain the exhilaration and sense of empowerment he got from letting his magic loose, and his Force-sensing was going into overdrive to the point he could even count the number of petals on a flower about a kilometre away from the entrance or to feel the water from a nearby stream. He could feel the plants working their functions as the sun hit them or even the animals' heartbeats as they went about their activities. It was all so exciting that he knew he was going to be needing another notebook for this observation alone.

But enough of that, time for some lessons, which for some odd reason, be it a coincidence, preordained, or even sheer dumb luck, that the courses offered at the summer camp would be the key to helping his problem and increasing his arsenal.

There were mandatory classes at the camp like the languages class, but majority of his classmates chose the more 'attractive' courses at the camp, meaning those that allowed them to be outside roughing about in the open field as opposed to being stuck indoors. Harry being one of the more studious chose the latter to learn more about the world outside of Britain and found himself immersed in the world of languages, music and crafting. The one that stood out for him was the symbology class that at the time showed simple pictograms, icons and symbols for them to try out and decipher. Most of the small class had stopped after the first lesson, with a couple more after the second, but Harry pushed on to learn about the language that could be used with images. But the bit that settled the matter for him was when he was drawing them out on the third night while considering his problem back in Surrey. He accidentally pushed some of the Force during his more erratic thinking through the pencil and the symbols lit up briefly with some type of effect being created before the paper burnt instantly, leaving behind ashes and a new found discovery for Harry to try.

It did not take long for Harry to get results from his experiments and a new desire to incorporate this into his array of talents. The teachers had spoken of pictures and symbols used in the past to speak a language, but in his experiments, Harry found that he could do a lot more than just 'speak the language'; he could apply it in ways that he could reserve his powers while the symbols do the work for him. He could combine different pictures and symbols to create different effects that were previously unreachable to him with his magic. He needed to read up on it more if he wanted to use it more proficiently, not to mention a proper medium to write said language without it burning up.

That was when his crafting lessons came in.

Harry had played around with the small pieces of metal that was on the floor when the blacksmith was removing them from the small art piece he was demonstrating to the crowd. He had tried painting the symbols on wood at first and then rocks which got a better result depending on the type of rock, and he figured that metal being a stronger medium ought to be a better alternative to rock and definitely superior to paper. He decided to go back to the basics and used the symbols for light to create a light source similar to his Force Ball.

Good thing he went back to the basics while in the forest behind the cabin he was sharing with, because his first attempt got him re-enacting the same accident but with a few bushes of thorns near the campsite.

Not a pleasant feeling removing the thorns from his legs, but at least he was luckier than Dudley who got them introduced intimately between the legs when he was not wearing pants. Even Harry had to offer a moment of sympathy at that.

Once he got the basics of making light and fireballs with his symbology, Harry started researching other known cultures for more symbols and icons to consider combining to create the different ideas he got inspiration from the fantasy books and comics. The teacher at the camp was quite amused when Harry asked for any books he could read from and decided to loan him two books alongside a list to search from. Harry consumed the two books in record time and started to play around with his etching tools. Harry noted that whatever he had planned depended greatly on the type of symbols drawn along with the medium being used to hold them. For one, he should not use symbols representing fire or ash on flammable items, or use those representing power on wood as those would break or burn instantly with explosive results. He also needed to be very careful with the wording of his symbols since what passed as a word in one culture could be seen as another word or even a phrase in another. One of the first trials combining symbols from different cultures had him scrambling for cover as, for the lack of a better description, space seemed to collapse upon itself around the pebble he tried out and imploded with explosive results. Harry was lucky that when it did, the ground beneath it crumbled and dropped his failure into the stream, reducing the effects and the sounds.

He did however create some samples using the stronger pebbles and the few pieces of metal small enough to keep inside his bag with enough surface for him to etch the symbols on. It was certainly quite interesting to see how he could create chains of light to restrict an object, a 'growth accelerator' that could stimulate the growth of a plant safely, or even an amulet that helps to regulate heat around a certain area, the latter being very helpful on the cold nights at the camp. Harry had to work hard in suppressing a grin at people wondering why him and his bunk-mates had such a warm and soothing cabin as opposed to their chilling cabins.

Before long, it was the end of the summer camp and Harry would return to Privet Drive with two new notebooks filled with ideas of pictorial languages, several books and tools loaned by the camp instructors wanting him to practice, and a few prototypes to try out. One of which would prove crucial and most useful when he returned to find the cracked dome of sickly colours back in place, looking a lot bigger and feeling a lot more disgusting to him. One of the stones he had experimented on had the symbols for **'protection', 'barrier', 'power', 'detection'**, and most importantly to him, **'rejection against ill intent'**. He wanted to test the idea of creating a protective field of sorts so that he won't be attacked at a certain area.

It was by sheer coincidence that when he was experimenting with it, he accidentally cut his finger and dripped a few droplets of blood on it, with the stone seemingly absorbing the blood into itself and the symbols glowing briefly. When he approached the barrier, the stone had activated inside his bag and destroyed the dome with a loud crash that sent every car alarm blaring. Then to his eyes, Harry saw four bolts of light shooting out of his bag and towards different directions, then a new dome of pure light and pulsing with new energy sprung up with a force that sent shivers down Harry's spine but was more welcoming to him and seemingly driving away the dregs of the old field away for good. Feeling encouraged, Harry walked through the barrier and had to restrain himself from shaking at the warm and comforting wave that wrapped around him protectively, with the added feeling of chains being removed from his body and making him feel a lot more energetic, certainly a big improvement from the other dome set up by his supposed jailers. If he had to guess, this was his own magic creating the dome, his own 'Force Field' if he dared to say so.

Although an oddity did happen when this was going on. His signature scar started hurting badly and oozed out black blood without warning. He was lucky that he was at an empty street when the scar seemed to split wide open and a horrifying scream of pain rang out, chilling him to the bones from both the sound and from the black cloud that came out of the scar. It could have been from the disorientation but Harry would swear that there was an actual face in the cloud as it twisted in a sickly manner. After a few painful seconds, the cloud dispersed, taking with it the awful looking face and leaving Harry a touch paranoid. It was only the next day did Harry realize that the scar had disappeared almost completely and he was experiencing an upsurge of his magic, as though there had been some limiter on his body that was now removed and he was gaining full access of his abilities. Even his eyesight seemed to have gotten better within the week to the point that he did not require glasses for the majority of the time.

It would seem that making that barrier prototype was the greatest idea he had to that point in time.

He would later get a further demonstration of the barrier when he was visiting one of his teachers for the day. He was just about to reach the door when a sensation of danger blared in his mind while the barrier glowed brightly, before he heard pained yelps and crashing. Harry turned to find two individuals dressed in those weird robes with their hands broken along with those wood type wands, and a third on the ground unconscious. After a quick look-around and feeling with his senses, Harry aimed and focused hard at the two invaders, before firing off a beam of light that struck them both to render them like their third companion. With that taken care, Harry raced for his teacher's house to get to safety, but not before summoning whatever they had on them that could help him identify who they were. The teacher called the police who Harry handed most of the items he got off the oddly-dressed people. The last he heard of them, the police arrested them for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.

When he went to check the items he held back at his hideaway, Harry was somewhat confused at the odds-and-bits. There was no proper identification aside for some identity card that was at least thirty years old (a fact that confused the police when they went to apprehend them), one bag of odd coins of gold, silver and bronze (wasn't he surprised when he reached into the bags only to have his entire arm disappear to the shoulder), a very bulky key made of gold, three wands of different design and make that gave off an odd feeling (two gave off sparks when he waved them and a third almost blew up in his face), a cloth that gave off a feeling that he did not like (Harry used his magic to move it out of the hideaway and onto a pebble, watching it vanish with a pop), and finally a piece of parchment that had oddly cursive writing and with a coat of arms at the top, and the words **'Gringotts Wizarding Bank'** and **'Hogwarts'** on it.

Guess he had a new place to look up, and perhaps a place to return the key if it was what he believed it to be. He did not want to be labeled a thief after all.

~ooOOoo~

Time went on with Harry experimenting even further. One of the first experiments he did was to etch the same protection symbols on the walls of his hideaway with the addition of placing pebbles with the symbols of **'protection', 'power' **and **'root'** at various points of the area. The locations were a mix of a good hiding spot and an instinctive feeling that they would draw natural energy from the surroundings like the river nearby. There was a sense of pride going through Harry as he activated the symbols and watched a smaller dome appeared over his hideaway with the anchor pebbles well within it, now noticing the hexagonal patterns on it that reminded him of a bee's nest from one of his textbook. It was definitely working a lot better than he anticipated since the pebbles made sure that they would be protected inside of the dome, which made sense as he recalled stories of people subverting barriers by digging them out as they were at the edge or outside of the barrier. With this, the weaknesses should be reduced a fair bit.

Harry's senses had expanded during the camp so he could now tell if someone was coming at him or an attack was imminent from a distance (most useful when Dudley tried to come at him from behind), but evidently with the new barrier installed, Harry could sense everyone and everything in it, not to mention a few intrusions and repelling that spoke of people trying to force their way through. After Harry felt the presence of the magic users trying to get near Privet Drive for about a week, Harry had about enough and thought furiously of ejecting them out from the start. What he did not anticipate was for his magic to interact with the barrier and enact his thoughts immediately, allowing him to see with his mind's eye at least five wand users with their odd robes thrown out of the barrier and one Arabella Figg ejected of her premises in the evening with evidence of tax-evasions and other crimes which saw her arrested. After that Harry started to relax since he could no longer feel anyone with magic that wanted to do him harm.

There was however one issue with the barrier; Harry was not used to feeling so many people at once, making him experience a sensory overload to his mind that forced him to stop every so often to regain himself. He ended up having to read up on books for meditation and mental exercises in order to organize his thoughts better, but the real kicker was a seemingly unimportant journal stuck between thicker books in the library. Harry would have thought it to be a misplaced item if not for the odd feeling that came off it and the few keywords that popped out in the pages when he flipped through.

Magic, wand users, Hogwarts, Gringotts, his name and finally, one Lily Potter nee Evans.

Harry managed to get it back to his hideaway and read the journal that was evidently left behind by someone with similar backgrounds to Harry, being raised on the outside or as stated 'muggle-raised'. Said author who had apparently kept his name as a secret put together the journal with instructions to find his stache of books on mind-arts and old magical text, before leaving it in the library in hopes that anyone with magic in the area could pick it up and learn from it. Harry loved puzzles, so it did not take long for him to decipher the instructions and followed them to the stache that was hidden very cleverly behind an old painting at the old town hall down the street.

It was certainly interesting to read from a third person's perspective on entering 'Magical Britain'; how the world seemed to be set in the Victorian Period using old candles and lamps for lighting, how as an innocent child the author entered the world through a bar called the Leaky Cauldron, went to a place called Hogwarts to learn magic, suffered the blood prejudice and the war that went on, and finally left the world as a slightly jaded man. The author described the four houses represented by animals and what they stood for, the four founders who created Hogwarts, the type of lessons done by the professors, the type of environment for said lessons, the mystery and the darkness of magic. He spoke of mystical creatures that Harry had only read and dreamed of from fantasy books like elves, goblins, centaurs and unicorns, and then he talked about the prejudice and social structure that existed there. He lamented about the education that was average at best and downright horrible at worst, the missed opportunities to continue his regular education, and how after checking with other countries shown that Hogwarts was lagging behind in the education front.

And then there was the description regarding his mother.

It was a touch hopeful to think that the woman could be related to him, but what the man wrote certainly gave credence to the evidence at hand. It helped that his description of her matched the woman of his dreams, and now he almost have a mental image of a red-haired beauty who was gentle but firm in her belief that one's actions should be held accountable if done in error. She was someone brilliant in charms and potions to the point of having two professors fight over her for a chance of offering apprenticeships, and evidently someone who was praised as one of the brightest witches to rank one of the highest at Hogwarts and the Ministry, and a quick hand in dueling. She was also a person who by all accounts should not be with James Potter, his apparent birth father who had a reputation of being a prankster that went too far with the pranks set on people in different houses and seemingly prejudiced against anyone considered 'Dark'. Harry was not too sure of how he felt on that, to him James Potter sounded a lot like a thinner, more popular Dudley who would not be punished for his 'mischievous games'.

Especially by a man who was described by the author as 'a two-faced lying bastard pretending to be your grandfather while actually being your worst obstacle for true justice', along with a photo of said person. The sight of the old man who had tried to attack him made Harry on edge, who now had a name to go with the face.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Previous Transfiguration Professor and current Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Vanquisher of Gellert Grindelwald, the Dark Lord that had spread terror in the European countries and parts of the USA.

Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, a high court of law.

Supreme Mugwump for the International Confederation of Wizards.

The Proclaimed Leader of Light.

And as of this moment, someone who had an interest in Harry.

Now Harry would need to consider his plan of attack.

~ooOOoo~

Harry started with the books on mind-arts, with the feeling that he would need lots of protection if he had to go against people who have the ability to read minds. The author had provided a few texts of the subject of Occulmency, the name given to the protection of the mind, highlighting portions on the books with sticky notes for him to understand, which method to study first, and demonstrating the pros-and-cons of the methods in question. It certainly helped since the books were advanced and messy, and Harry was hesitant to go too far with it in case he did something wrong.

At the same time though, the man had helpfully compiled a small book of his own writings and views on the subject. He believed that while Occulmency was good in organizing one's thoughts, securing them safely and able to handle intrusions, it was not the sure win method of securing the mind. In effect, keeping it too organized actually made it easier for experts mastering the art of mind-reading to attack the weak spots and read all of the secured information at once. What he had envisioned and tested on his side was to combine several studies and create a mindscape that would hide the secrets in the most subtle manner like a photograph with one small detail that was wrong and known only to the user. It should be a mindscape that appears to be in chaos to resemble a mind that did not have any protections while having good and strong defenses only the user would know how to deactivate or bypass in the event that one was forced to bring the intruder into the mind. The author in question sounded a touched too happy and unhinged when describing the type of defenses he had created for his mind, using a mixture of modern pop culture and magic to do so. Harry decided to follow his advice and looked up movie titles and books to get some inspiration.

In hindsight, he should not have looked them up in the middle of the night, but he would maintain that they would make great guardians for his mind. It was coincidence that he would have a small light in his cupboard or the hideaway to sleep with, really that was it.

On the plus side, thanks to the text and books, Harry got a few more ideas to protect his mind, such as a reflection rune on his new pair of glasses that should prevent people from using sight based abilities on him, and a small part of him was actually hoping for someone stupid enough to attempt reading his mind to see how they love his surprise guardians.

On other matters, his studies in his regular school were going great. He was maintaining his position around the top ten, just one rank away from top five, and was actually a little ahead of the rest in completing his primary education. So much so that he was allowed within reason to try out higher grade education so as to grant him a head start in getting to a decent middle school. His teachers were certainly happy that he was able to apply himself well, and were proud of the fact they were able to grant him a chance to represent their school at the education contest held in London for primary schools. Harry had a lot of fun at that contest, although he did overhear a few of the others complaining about a girl being a know-it-all driving them crazy and making them hide in their accommodations. He had yet to meet her but got the odd feeling he would do so in the future, the image of the puppy in his head giving an odd shrug to indicate its agreement.

Dudley on the other hand had made his mark at the bottom of the totem pole with his lack of manners, bad behaviour, almost failing his tests and bullying others with his gang. The teachers had already sent him and the group into more detentions than any others in the entire cohort for a single year, and had already tried to get his parents to discipline him further. Vernon and Petunia refused to believe them about the behaviour but were forced to take him to task on his studies, and due to the field Harry had placed before hand, made it looked like they ignored him completely and giving more reason for the staff to gather evidence against them.

He should not be happy about such a bad thing, but Harry managed to contain his smile at the sight of them getting into trouble.

~ooOOoo~

The next couple of years passed with Harry finishing his primary education early and halfway through his middle school education at a rate that was remarked by the teachers as extraordinary. In fact Harry was given the accelerated programme to keep him occupied with education and having a fair number of middle schools requesting for his attendance when he was ready to enter middle school, a couple of whom were top-ranking schools willing to offer scholarships for him. Harry was honestly surprised as he was too focused on his studies to realize that he was making a name for himself, but he took it in stride and considered them as part of his ongoing plan to get away from the Dursleys and protect himself in society.

Harry also made progress on his magical research and created a fair number of spells and supposed artifacts that could be used in various manners. One of the first ideas he had was to create a lighting system for his hideaway using the symbols and runes he had learned over the years. The author of the journal had lamented how Hogwarts was missing out on electricity due to some notion that it could not work in areas with high magical densities, and Harry was determined to overcome that issue after reading on the problem. He had the thought that it was either due to the earlier tests with electricity that made it unstable, or it could be have been done intentionally such that those entering the magical world would be forced to leave it behind without any form of communication with their relations, the latter making more sense considering the locations based on the author's descriptions. It took a fair bit of trial and error, not to mention several explosions, but Harry was able to create something that first allowed him to generate enough electricity to power a light bulb safely, then a room, and finally the entire compound. It was a good moment for him when he flipped a switch to activate his runes and symbols, and watch the compound light up brightly in the dark for the first time in years after the power was removed from it. Combined with several artifacts to generate clean water and cool air, not to mention a small greenhouse for him to grow his garden of fruits and vegetables, he was almost living in the compound all on his own.

He also started getting letters and packages from unknown senders using owls of all things, one of which was apparently the wizarding bank that he had meant to go to return the stolen key. Harry on a whim checked online with the keywords 'Hogwarts' and 'Gringotts', and found much to his surprise an actual chat forum with people who had entered Magical Britain. From them he got the location and went there in disguise to check the place, from which he would find out on matters that would concern him gravely and new information that helped him repurpose some of his plans.

And so, about a month before his eleventh birthday, Harry received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	4. Book 1-03

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 3

**Posted Date:** February 3rd 2020

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"It would seem that the day has finally arrived." Harry let out a breath as he looked down in the box carrier at the thick envelope baring the coat of arms for the school where his parents were taught magic and where the headmaster who had an unhealthy interest in him was. Next to said box, another box was being filled with other letters and small packages, each one attached with a small note on the type of magic which was attached and whether it had been removed, and with the coat of arms from Gringotts.

With a flick of his fingers, circular sigils with symbols, binary numbers and runes from various cultures appeared on top of the envelope to scan the letter, making it glow a variety of colors before said colors came off of it and condensed themselves into small balls. Harry snorted derisively as he recognized the colors and checked the readings of the search, it would seem that three years after having the barrier installed did not dissuade his spies from trying to get his location. He dispelled them away after taking notes of them before using a hover charm on the envelope and moved it to the next room for testing.

The old factory had changed over the years in the time Harry had taken it and used it as his hideaway. Gone were the dusty walls with peeling paint and huge cracks letting in the rain. Gone were the empty floors and rusted pipes. Gone were the empty rooms with a few broken furniture and wet floors. Gone were the dead plot of land that looked like it would be unsuitable for planting.

Oh no, Harry gave it the 'Potter' treatment.

The outside of the factory perimeter had been cleared up and replanted with trees that he got under an alias with help from Gringotts to hide the factory from view, not that it required much as the old road leading to the place was broken up and covered from the weeds over the years. Also under his alias, the factory had been brought and went through the proper channels to ensure no one would suspect the place being taken over by a soon-to-be eleven year old.

The walls had been repaired using concrete that had been created with the old mixer he fixed up with runes and restored to their former state, enforced with the symbols and magical runes to ensure they would not be subjected to time, weather nor any attacks from outside. The floors have been swept, repaired, washed vigorously and with a touch of fire, polished to the point it shone like marble. The entire floor space had been split onto four areas, with each of the original markers that designated the different stations given a fresh coat of paint and a color rune to indicate which areas were for which type of experiments or training.

The power source for the old factory had undergone a few iterations since the first implementation; what started out as a large canvas of symbols and runes involving lightning, power and energy spanning almost the entire wall of the old generator room, with what used to be a web of wires haphazardly arranged like an electrician's nightmare, was now fitted onto a single table size metal plate, with a series of cables attached to it that linked them to the rest of the factory, giving the place an almost infinite supply of power as long as the runes do not burn out too quickly, and even then that was resolved with the concept of heat capacitors that used runes to capture the heat and store them as energy and a couple of runes representing ice to cool the plate at the same time.

The furniture were those he managed to salvage from all over the neighbourhood and fixed with some odd bits and pieces alongside his runes and magic, depending on the needs of his work. The empty plot of land, a couple of the storage units and one of the smaller rooms inside the factory have been converted into greenhouses to grow his fruits and vegetables for food, medicinal herbs for general treatments, and even a test-bed to try his hand at crossbreeding plants with a mix of science and magic. The rooms at both the lower and upper levels were cleaned up and fixed for Harry to use for different purposes:

Two rooms meant for all of his testing of magic 'Force', one room to try out different runes and testing of combination spells, and a larger room to serve as his laboratory for potions and chemical making.

A room designated for his make-shift gym with whatever trash he could gather to create his own weights or equipment for both his physical and 'Force' training purposes. He won't be a body builder like Arnold but at least he was fixing his body from the damages of his upbringing and would be in good shape.

A study room filled with books of various subjects, both mundane and magical, and whatever notes he had on his experiments, complete with diagrams and stick-it notes. Those were given a cupboard of their own for quick reference but hidden behind a false wall in case someone tried to infiltrate the area.

A smaller room for his sleepovers when he had to work overnight, complete with a refurbished bed and a proper bathroom (Harry was so grateful for cleaning and repairing charms, not to mention lots of junk that was still usable, and more importantly, proper plumbing!)

The room that he was at a moment ago was meant to receive and hold any mail for him, mundane or otherwise. One section of the room was solely for the mail that came from the magical side of the world, a good thing too since the amount of mail coming in quite fast was substantial despite it being rerouted to Gringotts through their carrier service for the checking of curses, compulsions and traps. Much of it was standard 'thank-you' cards that he got a pen to automatically write out a standard reply with the occasional deviation to ensure people did not try to compare them. The gifts that come with them would be noted so that the senders could have a more personal reply. Those that were more dangerous would be tagged and sent to the magic division of police to settle, and if per chance the packages and occasional letter managed to bypass Gringotts because of the address naming like that silly 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' title or because the delivery method was not something they could think of, his personal wards and delivery box would redirect them to the special containment he had set up there so that he could send them off to Gringotts or examine himself. His mundane mail was not much, basically a set-up box he connected with an external mail-box to grab his applications from middle schools, catalogs and oddities that were addressed to him

The security room was given new life with salvaged security cameras, two television screens and detection wards placed at different parts of the perimeter around the factory and key entrances. That was certainly a hassle as his first few attempts were failures in detecting anything passing through, then they became too successful as it caught every bird, rabbit, lizard and even spiders. It got to the point that Harry had to craft some animal wards to discourage the animals to come near the stones to isolate them until he could fix the system. After that he linked his cameras and television to his rune power system and let them do the monitoring.

One of the more previously damaged and now buffed-up rooms was designated his water collection, filtration and cleansing room. Harry had to salvage usable water tanks and fix them up with references from books and his metal-smith lecturer from summer camp before etching runes to clean its contents. The water itself came from either the old plumbing that was still left there, the nearby river, the rain collected from the roof via the ducts and his runes, and even the runic system that called upon water in the event of a dry season, all of it channeled through the cracks that he fixed up with some old pipes and imagination to go to the tanks to undergo multiple stages of filtering, boiling and cleansing before getting stored into the biggest storage tank he could get and fixed up with expansion runes to store the water properly for consumption and watering the plants.

Currently the room he was going about checking his Hogwarts letter was designed for containment and 'de-cursing' of any suspicious packages that ended up in his carrier-boxes, considering all that was going on in his life. And for this particular letter, Harry got the feeling that it would be sent in a different manner from the rest to ensure he was clueless to the world and to sneak in something that would likely be detrimental for his health.

Too bad for the old man that he had planned for such an issue.

"Okay then, let's see what type of spells you are laden with today?" Harry hummed as he placed the envelope on a metal plate riddled with symbols and runes, placed that inside a clear plastic box and pressed a rune at the side to send a small bout of gas inside to cover the letter and plate. Almost immediately, the symbols on the plate started lighting up like a Christmas tree upon contact and the alarms that Harry had the foresight of lowering the volume started sounding at the detection of multiple spells. The pen next to the box came upright and started writing on the paper the names of the spells detected and their effects, each one making his eyebrow rise further to his hair. By the time it finished, Harry was honestly considering a different school and maybe a change in identity and working in the mountains as a farmer for sheep.

In total, there were five tracking spells on different parts of the envelope and letter, eight compulsion spells of varying effects, one double-layered portkey that was rather ingenious with the second hidden beneath the first which would only be activated once the first was removed and the recipient touched the letter, a stunning spell, a time-delayed magic disrupter and at least ten magic binding spells to limit his powers, alongside three potions cleverly laced into the parchment and ink to increase his fear towards some people and make him see others as his 'saviours'.

A fair bit of overkill for Harry in his opinion.

"This is ridiculous, then again with that stunt in the newspaper and the bank, that may have been a given." Harry remarked as he activated another set of runes to remove all the spells and neutralized the potions, some of which were done with rather violent reactions and took a while to remove. He waited for a while longer for the gas to be sucked out before opening the box to grab the plate with the letter supposedly free of whatever spells on it. Placing it on the table, he reached out only to pause with his finger just two inches away from the envelope and pulled it back with a thought. Turning around, Harry went to a cupboard nearby, open a drawer, and grabbed a mannequin of a person's hand attached to a stand. He tested to see if it worked before returning to the table and manipulated it to touch the letter with a finger, wincing as the sound of glass shattering filled the room and the envelope glowed brightly for a moment before stopping.

Good thing he practiced constant vigilance, else that would have been bad.

__(Somewhere in London, a certain Auror about to retire paused in his training of his cadet to look outside the room, a smile appearing on his scarred face with his one eye moving crazily in its socket which made his cadet go pale and her hair changed to a dull gray from the fright. The man then turned and yelled praises at someone practicing his favourite motto, before pushing his cadet even further, making the cadet curse at whoever made the Auror become more zealous in the training.)__

Harry sneezed briefly and sniffled with puzzled eyes at the suddenness, before grabbing a pair of tongs by the table while the hand managed to get the letter out of the envelope and the plate neutralized the remainder of the spells and potions on it. Pinching a corner of the letter, Harry took another breath and proceeded to read it.

At first glance, it was your standard acceptance letter into the school of magic alongside a stationary list, nothing too insidious. But Harry had the benefit of knowing from a past muggleborn and could tell that he was missing the standard booklet for those born as first-generation or raised outside of wizard society. Furthermore, the list of books was missing a few other titles that were meant to aid in transition of magic and based on the ones present, they were outdated by at least a decade. And lastly, the letter was phrased in a manner that suggested rather arrogantly that the prospective student would just accept the invitation without the option to refuse, and that they should be grateful for the opportunity.

Someone was honestly trying to limit his knowledge to the new world, if not the others who could be joining Hogwarts.

At this point Harry was considering his few options at his disposal. He knew that there were other schools that taught magic, but there were very few that would cater to his demands of keeping his mundane subjects. He was not going to give up his regular work and research to cater to the whims of these inbred morons, and as sure as hell not going to let them keep him in their society. He had made some plans on the day he went to visit Gringotts and had gone through with a couple on subsequent visits. They were small and likely insignificant, but in the long run would help greatly with what was still his eventual goal.

To be completely free of those who seek to control him.

He had already dealt with the Dursleys after his foray into the Magical World and Gringotts. Now it was time to deal with the wizards and witches of Britain.

With that in mind, Harry placed the letter back on the plate and went to his study to grab some paper and pen, pausing along the way to grab the special anti-tracking ink.

It was time to write a response.

~ooOOoo~

In a certain castle of magic in the highlands of Scotland, a certain half-goblin by the name of Filius Flitwick was going through his paperwork while occasionally checking on the incoming applications of prospective students. Normally Minerva would be handling this but she was currently visiting a few of the children in London and had to ask him for assistance. Since he had finished with his own visits, Filius agreed to help her sort the applications until she returned, using the time to deal with the last minute paperwork that sprung due to the questions made by the parents who wanted to know about the education or for students graduating in the coming year.

Not that monitoring the applications was a hard thing to do considering the low number of applications this year, nor was it a happy matter to consider. Hogwarts had been experiencing a decline of students with the low birth rates to begin with in Magical Britain, particularly among the pure-bloods as opposed to the blooming numbers of the muggleborns and the half-bloods. Add to the fact that the pure-bloods were also experiencing an upsurge of Squibs and it was a very sobering view for every sorting of the year. Filius understood like much of his goblin brethren that the main reason was the massive inbreeding among the wizards to keep the line 'pure', which was absolute rubbish to say the least.

But this batch was one of the groups most affected by the last blood war with Voldemort, what with multiple families being killed by the Death Eaters or driven out of the country, regardless of blood type. Many of the old blood families were either gone or one step out of the door, and the few that remained were practically reduced to one heir each. Other families had lost their heirs and were either trying to bring forth another to continue the line or had lost hope to the loss. Many were those he had taught in Hogwarts, their names engraved on a small stone tablet he had in his office as a way to remember them.

So many innocent lives lost to the monster that became the boogey-man of the magical community of Britain, through death or manipulations. Yet arguably speaking, more lives were saved thanks to one child.

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

A sad expression appeared on the Charms Professor as he paused in his writing and reminisced about his favourite student that had graced the halls of Hogwarts and whom he got the pleasure to teach. Lily Potter nee Evans was a very curious young lady who enjoyed the intricacies of a spell, the workings of potions, and the enjoyment of magic in all of its beauty and grace. She was passionate in her work and had the intelligence to go beyond the boundaries to create her own set of spells. She was gentle like her maiden name who maintained a friendly disposition to all, all while retaining a fire that would burn those who incite her wrath. Filius took great delight taking her under his wing and teaching her all that he had ever learned over the years, taking joy at how she pushed some of the spells to the logical extreme and how she would come up with very creative ideas for the most mundane of spells. Many of the others in the past remarked that she was a closet Ravenclaw stuck in Gryffindor, and that he was unlucky to not have her in his house. He merely answered that they were just jealous that he had all of her attention while they made do with the pranksters of the period.

He would also like to point out that Lily was his apprentice as opposed to him getting tied with Horace Slughorn to grab her attention. He was not losing ground to that potion master no matter what anyone said!

With a sigh, his thoughts then went to her son as he continued with his work. He remembered seeing the little one soon after his birth, and how Lily seemed to have the sun in her as she gently held Harry on her rocking chair. Filius admitted to being a little nervous to hold the child in his arms at her coaxing, but seeing the child look at him with curious eyes made him feel very happy for the chance, considering James Potter was not around often to help out in the household.

He had heard rumours of her son being sent to some relatives after that dreadful night, but for the life of him he could not recall any from James's side, or at least those that would take Harry in without strings attached. There was the possibility of the Black family, but considering the current generation that was not possible except perhaps Andromeda. But on Lily's side…

The ink dripped from his hovering quill as a frown appeared on his face. He had heard about Lily's sister, mostly from the time when the poor girl was distressed during fifth year when there was apparently an argument between the two. It took a bit of coaxing for her to spill her broken relationship with Petunia who was jealous of her magical gift and had openly called her derogatory names which soured their relationship over the five years in Hogwarts until the woman had evidently tried to hurt Lily with her then boyfriend. Lily was so distraught that Filius had to grant her some Calming Draught to ease her before she could talk properly without being hysterical. Filius admitted to himself that day that he was genuinely afraid for her and the manner the sister reacted so badly, and prayed that any children Lily gave birth to would be spared Petunia's attention.

He also recalled how Minerva had argued with Albus on Harry's placement a few times after the incident that took away his prodigy but the old man merely ignored her warnings and just gave his usual assurance that it was 'For the Greater Good' that Harry was kept at the Dursleys. While she had given up after a few months, Filius had tried on his end to check on Harry but somehow, he was blocked from it. The only clue that he was alive was from his cousins working at the bank, and Albus's constant words that Harry was safe.

Well, that part was definitely a lie.

Around the year 1988, Albus had rushed out of Hogwarts in agitation and returned later in the evening in a huff, barely keeping back his irritation of a matter. The next few weeks gave the staff front row seats to Albus getting more frustrated at a problem that he was not telling. It was the next year close to Harry's birthday that they got an inkling as to what it was. That morning, the Great Hall had never sounded so silent as the occupants took up the Daily Prophet and stared at the front page with wide eyes at the title heading that stated Harry giving his first interview.

To summarize the article, Harry Potter had apparently made contact with one of the reporters to give them a quick interview to which he wanted it to be truthful in the presence of two Aurors and a lawyer that was asked to help. With their aid as witnesses, he and the reporter in question signed a contract and gave an oath as proof that he would be telling the truth provided he had the right to deny answers to questions not related to the topic or infringing on his privacy, and that the prophet did not misquote him on purpose.

Harry then let the citizens of Britain know how grateful he was for the tributes sent to him over the years and that he was only starting to reply back to the letters and well-wishers due to the tightness of the security around him, apologizing at the same time for the period he was unable to reply to them. When asked his opinion on his survival, Harry firmly believed that the honor was to be given to Lily since she was the one protecting him, and he questioned how anyone got their 'acknowledged' facts about his survival since only his parents, You-Know-Who and Harry were in the house with him as the only survivor and witness. He was quick to emphasize that the stories that were in Flourish and Blotts were clearly fiction and that he was planning some legal action to deal with those who had used his name without his permission. He also gave his opinion that the citizens should not base him solely on those stories but rather through interacting with him, making a joke about how he would have remembered being on a dragon when he was dealing with his relatives' dog.

It was at the latter that a question was asked about his guardians, and while he did not give a location, Harry had expressed curiosity and confusion regarding Albus, stating that he had never heard, spoken or even met the old man in all the time he was raised in the muggle world; he only knew his relatives and teachers as the guardians, and that he was only starting to understand the scope of the wizarding world through his own explorations and never through any lessons that Albus was supposed to give to him as his supposed guardian. Harry then rounded the interview by expressing his well-wishes to those who had taken the time to write to him and he hoped to reply them all soon.

Before Minerva got a chance to speak, Albus was out of his chair and out of the door at the side, no doubt to find out why Harry was at the Daily Prophet office and likely to mitigate whatever perceived damage done with this article, only to return in the afternoon in a rage. Based on the article written by the reporter from the previous interview the next day, Albus had failed in his attempt to retract the article considering Barnabas Cuffe was fired along with other unscrupulous reporters and the Daily Prophet was now under new management that emphasized on the truth being published, and the apparent lawyer for Harry Potter appearing with a restraining order to ensure he could not interfere in his client's matters anymore, and that he should not be anywhere near the boy while undergoing investigations for his misconduct. The article then continued about how the lawyer was suing the different authors for using Harry's name without permission and not paying the loyalties in the process. Last he heard, at least eight were chewed out and forced to make amends with a hefty fine added on top.

There was also an incident that had happened at Gringotts on the same day that saw Albus cursing loudly in the open while the armed goblins ushered him out with spears, allowing the then gossip writer Rita Skeeter to speculate that Albus had been taking liberty from Harry Potter's vaults and making others question him for his reasons to go and insert himself into the boy's matters since he clearly did not do so before.

That week saw a lot of Howlers coming to Hogwarts for the old man. Filius could not recall the last time the mail room had withstood the number of explosions given off by that many Howlers to the point the walls were blackened by them and the scent of smoke was strong enough to knock out one of the house elves sent to clean the room.

Filius would normally dismiss such articles but this was one that he had to take note as it was making Albus unusually tensed. He always knew that Albus had an almost impulsive desire to control anything and everyone just so he could stay on top of matters that were mostly not of his damn business, but when it came to Lily's son, there seemed to be an obsession that made the half-goblin wary of his intentions. Even after the article and the hits that saw his positions at the Wizengamot and the ICW challenged, Albus appeared to have weathered the storm that hit him and continued his grandfather act while trying to get to Harry. Pomona, Babbling and Vector shared his concerns for the child while Severus was in his usual brooding mood and sprouting every bit of venom on 'the spoiled Potter brat', and Minerva seemed to alternate between worrying and exasperation for some odd reason. Sometime after that, the headmaster was agitated again, this time about some people needed to be released for the 'Greater Good'. That last bit was muttered while Filius was going through the old passage that led to his office so he ended up pausing to listen what the old man said before he came out of the entrance once the old man left the area.

Thankfully when Filius checked with his sources, his cousins confirmed that the boy was safe and well away from Albus, without him able to access the boy's vaults anymore (Something that shocked and angered Filius for the wizard's audacity). Curiously they were also amused by the boy about something but kept their mouths shut when asked, stating that he would get the chance sooner or later to find out.

How curious indeed.

His thoughts broke when a delivery owl entered through the window and deposited the application envelope on the desk before leaving for rest. Automatically, the envelope opened up to let the letter made out of that clear white paper he had seen for the past few years fly out before it went to the stack of envelopes at the side to prove the letter had been delivered and answered. The letter itself settled on the desk in between two stacks of letters to indicate that the writer had something to clarify before indicating their choice, with the light chiming from the instrument on the desk indicating that it was the last letter for the day.

Filius reached forward to grab it when his eyes fell on the lettering and went wide. All thoughts about his paperwork disappeared as his shaking arm finished the journey and grabbed the letter by the edge lightly. Taking a quick breath, Filius drew it to him and started reading.

__To whom it concerns,__

__I have a few questions regarding your courses and the type of education you are providing. I would like to discuss these questions with a member of the staff before I decide on joining Hogwarts since I have options in both the muggle world and the magic world for my education, not to mention I have been invited to take up on higher courses in the country. While I might have some understanding of Magical Britain, I am still muggle raised so I would hope that you have pamphlets with information for those raised outside so that I can get a better understanding of Hogwarts.__

__To be clear, I am only answering this letter because of the multiple attempts to track my location. As of this writing, two other acceptance letters had appeared with more tracking spells applied by someone in your school. I would think that it is a rude gesture to have such spells on mere student letters and pray that it is not a standard for your world. There should be no misunderstanding that I am currently undecided on attending Hogwarts and that it should not be construed as me agreeing to go to your school.__

__If you are open to a meeting, I have freed up my schedule for the week based on my old location. I hope to have a good discussion with someone who genuinely has the interests of prospective students in mind.__

__Regards,__

__Harrison James Potter __

Filius had to read it two more times slowly before he placed the letter back on the desk and leaned back in the chair, his mind being filled with the words of the letter and his thoughts on the boy.

Intellectually, he could understand where the boy was going, after all he was raised on the outside and from the letter suggested, the boy was sceptical about the whole 'magic deal', especially where his education was concerned. And while it was not stated outright, Filius read through the lines that Harry was suspicious of Albus trying to track him through the letters, not the first time Albus would do such a thing but this was going to be one of the issues that could come up for that discussion.

Emotionally, Filius was hoping that Harry would attend the same school as his parents and see if he had the same passion for charms as his mother. He would be unhappy but understanding if Harry wanted to be well away from Albus and end up going to another school. He also knew that the public would be very unhappy if that happened and it could go two ways; either get rid of Albus or force Harry into coming, both with very dire results.

He should be letting Minerva handle this since she would need to be more familiar with the muggle education system and how to appease muggleborns of their worries, but as of late she seemed to have lost whatever fire she had over the years and simply went along with Albus's orders without a complaint. Filius had no doubt that if she tried to handle this with Harry, chances were good that he would not comply without a fight and things would get really hairy, especially if Albus decides to stick his crooked nose in to the matter.

What to do?

The goblin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket watch with a silver chain, with a small bronze battle axe and the logo of Gringotts bank attached to said chain. The watch was made by a five-month pregnant Lily who wanted to thank him for his aid in her first successful charm creation to be approved by the IW Board and at the same time approached him with a request to look after her child if something ever happened to her. He looked at it for a while even as a cat Patronus came through the door with Minerva's voice saying that she was on her way back so he could leave the office. Then he looked at the letter one more time before gripping the watch tightly. He had failed to help her son when he was younger, now he would make sure to grab this chance to do so.

This was his chance to make things right for Lily.

With a quick hop off his chair, a quick note to Minerva and stuffing the letter into his pocket, Filius went out of the office and to his own office to collect the necessary documents to help those muggleborns or muggle-raised magicals before making his way to the front gates. If he recalled the address correctly, he should be around Privet Drive, and if he made it quickly enough, he could get to the child in time. But as he was almost at the gates, a certain unwelcome voice called out to him.

"Ah Filius, fancy seeing you out here." Albus Dumbledore came strolling down the path, his eyes doing that fake twinkle in his eyes. "I thought you have finished your visits of students earlier."

"I have." Filius answered while ensuring his mind-palace was in place and keeping his voice as cheerful as possible. "I was actually holding the fort for Minerva until she came back, now I am heading off to visit an old friend I have not got a chance to talk with for some time."

"I see, then I should not keep you waiting then. Just a quick question." Filius raised an eyebrow to get his question. "I am expecting a reply from Mister Potter on his attendance, has he replied yet? I might need to send another if he has not gotten it."

_'___Oh you would hope to get a reply.'__ Filius thought privately as he pondered his question quickly _'___Or perhaps you are hoping he has not replied so that you could harass for his answer.'__ He would no doubt consider doing so to drive a point, it might be best to tell a white lie in this case.

"Minerva only just sent the lot with the alphabets 'M' to 'P' this morning. I doubt he would get it that quickly. At most he would reply back either tomorrow or the day after. We can send a letter by then."

"Ah, I see." Filius's eyes were quick to detect the twitch or the odd twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, and there was a light tone of 'something' evident in his words that made Filius want to grab his wand for some odd reason. "I was thinking perhaps we could just send a quick reminder to him in case he did not get it. This way we can organize a guide for him to know the wizard world."

"You should not need to send him a reminder too early, or too many." Filius stressed the last few words. "You might end up frustrating him enough that he would stay out of Hogwarts instead of joining. Furthermore, I believe that he already knows something of our world, or have you forgotten that interview he did?" At that, Filius could tell from the dimming twinkle and the light clenching of the jawline that Albus was straining to keep his temper at the reminder of that disaster.

"Yes well, it would be nicer if he had someone who knew his parents well enough that they could get along like Hagrid. He could show young Harry along Diagon Alley on his birthday, this way he would not be so overwhelmed when he comes to Hogwarts." Albus said with his usual caring manner.

_'___Son of a silver-tongued fox, this man is unbelievable!'__

"That may not be the wise thing to do. The boy would likely have gotten some information on supposed family friends, and would probably have a negative impression of them for not visiting him. I will also remind you that it is Mr Potter's choice to decide whether to come to Hogwarts or to another school, not yours. Don't push him." Filius glared at the headmaster who seemed to realize that he may have tipped his hand too early at someone not intended. Before the old man could do anything, the half-goblin turned and stomped his way out of the front gate and immediately left the premises through Apparation. He was not sure if he could hold his temper long enough to avoid hexing the damn wizard to bits for trying to manipulate the young lad!

He would soon forget his anger as he appeared at the boundaries of Privet Drive and found himself caught by surprise from the wards that was encompassing it, almost bending over from the sheer pressure of said wards.

_'___By the gods, what sort of wards are these?!'__ Filius almost gasped as he tried to straighten his back under the pressure on his shoulders. At first, he thought this was the rumored wards that Albus used to protect the Potter Heir, but this did not have his signature 'flavor' nor anyone he knew. And he could not help the chilling image of a hungry wolf with its teeth on his neck, waiting for him to make a move to bite it off before eating him alive. All he could think over and over in his mind was him wanting to talk with the young boy about his education and not doing any harm to him. What seemed like hours had passed when it was actually seconds before the weight had shifted and he was able to breath easily again, this time with the odd thought of said wolf no longer having its teeth on his neck and not being aggressive but still keeping an eye on him if he made a false move. With a few deep breaths and an unconscious rub of his neck where he felt the teeth, he straightened himself up and made his way on to Privet Drive, shivering slightly as the wards were constantly scanning him for intentions. Despite the risks, a part of his mind could not help but marvel at the wards encompassing the area. This was certainly not a standard ward system that he was familiar with, if he had to make a guess it was a combination of other types to make this version, but who was the creator?

His thoughts got interrupted when he arrived at the street only to realize that he did not know the exact address. He cursed mentally at forgetting such a detail, he would have to use his location spell.

"... Heard the Potter kid was getting an offer from some university?"

"Queen Mary University, they found out about his application tests in the science subjects for the middle schools and sent him a test to try out. From what I was told, the kid aced it and now he is being considered to move up the level to get a future placement there."

"Damn, that kid is going far! Wished my kid made that much effort."

Filius turned to see two men walking in the opposite direction discussing something. Hurrying along on his two small feet, he managed to get to them quickly. "Excuse me gentlemen, may I ask you something?"

"Sure thing." The two turned around, briefly looked about in confusion before looking down at Filius, one of them raising an eyebrow at his apparent height. "What do you need mate?"

"I could not help but overhear your conversation." Filius started speaking as he considered his words correcting. "Am I right in assuming that Mister Potter is called Harry Potter?"

"Depends." Both men narrowed their eyes at him with the speaker talking with a slightly harder tone. "Who wants to know and why?" Inwardly, Filius approved at how protective the men were for the young man, now he needed to appease them.

"My name is Filius Flitwick, a professor from Hogwarts Academy for The Gifted." Filius gave his cover story, thankful that he had kept in touch with his muggleborn students to know what was told to others if prompted. "His parents were once students of mine and his name was entered into a waiting list. I am trying to find him so that I could ask whether he was interested in joining, but I am having issues since I don't have his current address."

"His parents?" Filius noted the air shifting slightly while the two men looked to each other. The second man who had not spoken thus far made his opening statement. "Those don't happen to be the ones that got drunk, abandon the boy and got killed in a car crash?" It was only sheer control from his duelling days that stopped Filius from losing his temper and hexing the crap out of anyone in sight, but it was a near thing as he made his opinion very clear.

"Drunk? Abandon?! CAR CRASH?!" The two men took a step back as he growled fiercely courtesy of his goblin heritage. "Those two were good people who loved their child, and Lily hated drinking more than anything! And they most certainly did not die from a car-crash! Who dares to spread such rubbish!"

"Petunia Dursley. I knew that woman was trouble since Harry's fifth month." The second man muttered darkly. "It did not make sense why she kept going with that story despite all that had happened."

"What had happened?" Filius was dreading the answer.

"It is not our story to tell. But rest assured that the Dursleys are getting their just desserts. If you want it, you may try to ask Mister Potter." The first man spoke firmly but kinder now. "If you are looking for him, try the workshop near the elementary school. Just head down the street, turn left at the junction, a right after the second and you will see the sign-post for Down Street. He should be there at this time."

"I see, thank you for that. Have a good day." Filius may have been a touch rude when giving his thanks and goodbyes, but his mind was going nuts at the information he was given. Clearly the relationship between Lily and Petunia was more caustic than he had anticipated, to spread such lies about them and the child! His goblin heritage was practically demanding that he took up his battle axe and hacked the woman to bits, but the human side was telling him to first find the boy to make sure he was safe, ONLY THEN will he go after the woman and her family to curse them to oblivion.

It spoke of how deeply he cared for Lily and how affected he was from that conversation that he made his way to the workshop in a daze without stopping and only looked up when the sound of children talking broke his thoughts and drew his attention to the crowd of children that was exiting the area with the sounds of the bell ringing from the building. Filius looked at the group attentively while considering the possibilities of the boy's appearance; currently the most widespread description was the boy resembling his father with green eyes like his mother and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, with a few detractors claiming the reverse with him taking on more of his mother's appearance. A part of him hoped that it was the latter if only to settle his elderly heart.

Filius waited as he watched the children either getting picked up by their parents or made their way home on foot, his heart sinking as the numbers dwindled and no sight of the young Potter was found. Maybe he was too late?

"Excuse me sir, are you per chance looking for me?"

Filius turned around on instinct, his duelling senses ringing in alarm at the sudden presence that came from behind him without any feedback. Before him was a child that was perhaps a little smaller than the average eleven-year-old dressed somewhat informally in his short-sleeved shirt, brown pants and well-worn sneakers. He appeared to have spent a fair bit of time in the sun based on the coloration of his skin, but that did not detract from the light build that was already appearing on his body, the young yet somewhat mature face that still held a child's youth framed with the dark hair that was slightly messy in a nice manner and cut short, the emerald eyes that reminded him so much of his favorite prodigy showing amusement at his reaction, and perhaps the most damning, the extremely faint outline of an old scar shaped as a lightning bolt that would probably go unnoticed unless one was looking for it specifically up close.

"Good evening, professor." The young man gave a smile that was a mix of Lily's kindness and James's mischievousness. "I believe you wish to see me regarding my questions and application to Hogwarts?"


	5. Book 1-04

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 4

**Posted Date:** March 23rd 2020

**Updated Date:** May 24th 2020 / September 12 2020

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Filius took a sip of the tea that was offered to him by the waitress while studying the boy seated before him currently looking through the booklet for those raised outside of Magical Britain and taking a quick bite of the sandwich, his mind churning with thoughts on the boy.

After he met the young Potter outside of the school area, Harry led him to the nearby cafe where they were greeted warmly by the staff and directed to a table that Filius noted to be in full view and in a direct path for the staff to reach if required. Considering the careful glances at them every so often and what he had gathered from the two men earlier, Filius felt somewhat assured that the boy was in safe hands within this community even if the wards were active. He had to wonder what had happened to make the adults that appeared so far to be really protective of the young lad, it could not be just because he was an old man searching for a young boy.

As for Harry himself, Filius could not help thinking of the boy like a puzzle that was itching to be solved; now that they were sitting to have tea for their discussion, Filius took a closer look at the child. His appearance was certainly a lot like his father, but the chin was a little narrower than James and his cheekbones were somewhat similar to Lily's. His hair was cut short to tame the unruly hair, but under the correct lighting the ends revealed a tinge of red, and of course without anything to block the eyes, the bright color and beauty of said eyes were shown. As mentioned, Harry had a decent build despite his rather small size that spoke of a fair amount of exercise that in his mind was good for decent endurance and bursts of speed. By themselves, it did not mean much but when looked on as a whole, all those elements made young Harry very different from the description pushed around in the world as a scrawny youth with messy black hair and round glasses. Unless someone looked at him carefully, he could actually stand next to other wizards and not be noticed at all.

The boy's behavior thus far seemed to be one who was polite and mature while guarded at the same time, not to mention being quite blunt on certain matters that could be considered borderline rude to some. There was surprisingly little presence to him, and if it was not for his goblin heritage, Filius would have thought that Harry was a ghost. His movements were also unusual in the manner that they were silent and precise that it reminded him of Minerva's method of walking as a result of her animagus side, not something he would expect of a young boy especially when he saw how Harry managed to avoid getting hit by passers-by with the ease of one having done so multiple times.

His eyes were perhaps the biggest indicator though: bright, filled with knowledge and a touch of mischief, but hidden behind veils of wariness, a child who seemed to be guarded and have aged just a bit faster than needed.

What on earth happened to Lily's precious boy?

"This seems somewhat informative." Harry remarked as he closed the brochure for muggleborns' introductions to the school. "But it is also outdated, not to mention a touch restrictive and arrogant if I am allowed to say."

"How so?" Filius asked as he placed the cup down on the table, curious to see how the boy would interpret the introductions.

"Firstly, the manner in which you introduce prospective students starts with the introduction letter you send to us." Harry lifted the letter he had received from Hogwarts. "Am I right in guessing the format has not changed for a few years?" A nod from Flitwick prompted him to continue. "The format would be a decent welcoming letter for newcomers, but likely around the mid 17 or 1800s. The manner this letter is worded makes it sound that the receiver should be honoured to come to the school without the option to refuse the invitation."

"But Hogwarts is one of the best in Europe." Filius automatically defended its status in Europe, although he knew better than to claim it was the best in the world like Minerva and a few others do so to sell the idea.

"Not everyone would want to go to Hogwarts even if it is the best school in Europe. Some may not be able to afford it, otherwise want to attend another school. Based on the brochure provided, you are only providing basic magic courses." Harry lifted another pamphlet and a folder of papers for Filius to view. "You have mentioned about Hogwarts being the best in Europe. That is true to a certain extent, because if you look at that document, you would find that it does excel in the major subjects that are given at the academy such as Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology, but it is lagging in other areas such as History and Potions. I have checked with other schools and their lessons span over a larger number of subjects and areas that Hogwarts does not have or discarded over the years, either due to budget cuts or whatever reason given. There is also the case where Hogwarts does not appear to offer mundane subjects like Mathematics and Physics to study." That drew the half goblin's attention from the folder.

"You wish to study muggle subjects?"

"Before getting this letter, I have been studying hard to get myself into a prestigious middle school and a good university. I am already going through an advance course and getting a fair number of offers and scholarships to attend those institutions. While I certainly would not mind learning about magic, I am concerned that I would have to give up my mundane education to do so. One does not simply rely on magic alone to get things done, not to mention I can have a better time adapting to do so." Harry paused to take a sip of his drink. "From what little I have witnessed the past couple of years in this country, a vast majority of the magical folk seemed to be tolerant at best and downright prejudiced against anything related to mundanes or non-magical folk. While that might be what you guys want, that does not mean you can afford to make those mundane-born so ignorant to the point of uprooting them and forcing them to conform to your ideals on blood prejudice and society as the world has marched on quite a fair bit in the past couple of centuries."

"Now I have checked other academies and thus far, I would have better luck going abroad to Salem or even one of the Asian schools. Failing that, the next best would be to hire private tutors, something I made sure to check I can do so as it is a given right by the charter and thus cannot be contested. From what I heard about some of the professors, I might be better off doing so." He paused to look at Filius in the eye. "I also make sure that I have the means and resources to do so, regardless of what some might want to believe and try to interfere."

That statement alone told Filius a lot of facts not mentioned out loud. Young Harry clearly planned it out well to present his argument, and it was noted with relief that he did not subscribe to the blood mentality that has plagued the upper echelons for so many years, which was very good in Filius's opinion. There was also the bit that Harry was not looking for a life or education in the magical world, or rather Magical Britain. He was seriously looking into having good education in both sides of Britain, and failing that he would look elsewhere for it, knowing that he would likely be hounded or downright obstructed by people who would want to make sure he stayed in Hogwarts, either out of perceived entitlement or avoid the loss of prestige from having "The Boy Who Lived" leave. That last bit was clearly a jab at Albus for his supposed attempts to control the boy, something that Filius was still trying to wrap his head around.

But something niggled at his mind…

"I apologize if this is repetitive, my knowledge regarding muggle subjects is outdated by a fair bit. You have been offered to go skip grades in the muggle education system?"

"I prefer calling regular people mundanes. It is less insulting for them." Harry took another sip of his drink. "As for your question, I have been in the advanced program since I was eight. Most of my teachers were supportive and willing to push me harder to learn more. By my calculations, I should be preparing for my GCE O Levels by next year, something I believe is the equivalent of your OWLS if I am not mistaken. I am making sure that I can continue my studies so that I can take the exams and pass them for the next level." At that Filius was honestly floored at the boy's admittance. Some would put it as arrogance to boast in such a manner, but the half-goblin could see that he was genuine in his statement and confident that he was going to pass said test. And if what he heard from the two mug… mundanes were true, Harry was very intelligent for one his age to be preparing for this 'university' and wanting to continue with his mundane studies.

So alike Lily…

"Sir?" His thoughts were interrupted by Harry who was looking at him oddly. Taking a glance, Filius noted that the other adults in the store were looking at him with raised eyebrows, before feeling something on his face. Raising a hand to it, Filius was surprised to find it wet with tears. He then let out a chuckle that was a mix of amusement and melancholy.

"My apologies Mister Potter, those words and the confidence you exhibited reminded me a great deal of a student I once knew." The half-goblin took out his handkerchief to wipe his eyes dry. "She had the same level of belief when we were discussing about her prospects of the future."

"I see." Harry nodded politely. Filius thought a bit before putting it out there.

"Indeed, your mother was one confident woman to go far." That definitely grabbed the young man's attention as he looked at him keenly, his mask now showing cracks.

"You knew my mother?" Filius could feel a bit of his heart aching slightly from the hopefulness, wariness and slight desperation in his voice. From what little he understood from the two men from before, Harry had grown up with less than flavourful stories of his parents and would likely hope to get something positive from anyone. Filius decided he needed more of the wonderful tea and treats to fatten the boy up and to keep the story going. After signalling to the waitress and gesturing to the items on the table, Filius turned back to the boy with a gentle smile.

"I do, both of your parents in fact. Granted, my experience with James Potter was more due to his penchant for trouble." Filius chuckled at the memories of the man getting into detention more times than anyone else in the past century. "He was skilled in Transfiguration to the point that Minerva (that's Professor McGonagall of Transfiguration and the Head of Gryffindor if you are interested to know) had considered at one point bringing him under her wing, but he was a little too over-the-top with his work and with the war going on he was not interested in obtaining a mastery of the subject. He was however quite proficient in the defensive arts against the dark wizards, even becoming an Auror after graduating."

"Auror..." Harry tested the word on his tongue. "That is the magical equivalent of a police officer."

"Indeed, one of the stronger fighters at that time." Filius paused in his thinking, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Jame's supposed brother in blood and partner was the one who had led to the betrayal and death of Harry's parents. He proceeded instead to his favourite student instead. "Your mother though, she was one I knew very well." Based on the increased eagerness, he had the feeling the boy wanted to know more of his mother as opposed to the father, curious but not something to be surprised of, likely because of Petunia poisoning his mind on her.

He was so going to be hexing that woman into the next century when he got his hands on her!

"Your mother was a very inquisitive young girl when she came to Hogwarts. She always looked to magic with an eye that could analyse and take apart spells, yet appreciate them for the beauty that could arise from them. She had always believed that it was not so much the nature of the spells but the intent of the user that would define the usage of spells." Filius recalled with fondness. "She was quite creative with her spells and potions, sometimes creating the most interesting combinations from the most common of spells or the most unusual potions."

"How so?" Harry leaned forward a touch bit, eager for more information on her.

"There was that one time during her third year in the late summer of 1974. Arguably one of the more horrendous spells of heat waves at that time, everyone was removing their robes in an effort to stay cool." Filius chortled at that point. "I don't believe I have seen that many students walking around in thin clothes and applying cooling charms every 5 minutes as the heat kept sapping the magic. Even for us professors, each of us were forced to adopt rather drastic measures to stay cool. Minerva ended up transfiguring her entire classroom to create more windows in an attempt to get more wind into the classroom. Big mistake." Filius laughed at the memory. "The wind coming in was more of the hot variant than the cool breeze. Madam Pomfrey was beside herself when all of Minerva's students came to her Hospital Wing from heat stroke."

"Now your mother had a rather ambitious idea to keep cool under the heat. She combined cooling charms and runes involving the wind and water to a big tube of metal, then introduced an aerosol version of a potion to cool the body down. As a result, she was able to create the equivalent of the... what do you call it, the air-conditioner?" A wide-eyed Harry answered his query. "Oh yes, she became very popular for that period, in fact my office has a more compact version that she created and gifted to me sometime before she graduated." Filius smiled nostalgically "I do recall that her first few tests were quite explosive to say the least, by that I mean her suddenly getting buried under 2 feet of snow or wet from a sudden cloud of rain above her head." Harry chuckled at the sudden image of his mother in her youth covered in snow while glaring at her smoking invention.

"Of course, she also possessed quite a temper, that I will not lie. There were a few students who had picked on her due to her height and heritage during her early years, but she could tangle with them in either wand work or words." Filius continued. "I may be understating it lightly when I say that your mother did not like your father at all when he went around pranking some of the people around her. She practically tore into him about his behavior and those of his group named the Marauders that one time dear Alice got itching powder in her robes. I have never seen boys screamed so loudly while clutching their behinds in all my years in Hogwarts as the fiery red head chased after them with hexes from one end of the school to the other." Harry laughed at that description as his mind now conjured the image of four kids being chased down the corridor with his mother coming down on them with her red hair waving in the air as she fired off hexes at their behinds.

"She sounds awesome." Harry remarked at the description given to him.

"She was Mister Potter, she was." Filius's smile became sad. "She was able to graduate with the highest scores known to Hogwarts, broke a few of the old records and set new ones. Up to now, no one could come close, let alone break them. Just like you, she continued her muggle education and ended up with high grades in that area. She was really talented, yet she did not let that get into her head. She had quite the heart with her." From where he sat, Harry seemed to be visualizing the type of woman Lily was being described to him, lightly smiling at the thought.

"I wish you could have grown up with her, words alone cannot do justice in my opinion." Filius lightly dabbed at his eyes at the memories flowing back into his mind. "Oh goodness me, look at me being a mess. I should be telling you more about Hogwarts instead."

"It is fine. I appreciate the gesture and the story regarding my mother." Harry answered truthfully. Again, the odd feeling came back to Filius at the wording.

"And your father?" The half-goblin noted how Harry hesitated for a moment with indecision in his eyes before firming up with the guard again.

"I am not sure." That definitely rang an alarm bell in Filius's head. "Before this meeting, I have visited Magical Britain a few times, and learnt about them through different sources. And while I appreciate both of my parents, I feel closer to my mother. James Potter though, I am of two minds based on his actions and reported behaviour."

"If I may ask, what are your thoughts on your father?" The half-goblin decided to set aside the discussion of Hogwarts and listened to the boy, curious on what he had heard. But Harry shook his head at that.

"Sorry Professor, but I would like to keep that private for now. May we return to the issue on Hogwarts?" Filius nodded while mentally noting to himself to visit the boy again in the future to talk his parents in case the boy got another erroneous view from unsavory folks who may have reason to hate the Potters. That was when the thought came to him that he needed to confirm his residence.

"There are some questions that I need to confirm with your guardian, and well..." Filius was a touch concerned if he was going to open up wounds, but decided to forge ahead. "From what little I have gathered around from some folks here, you are not staying with the family called the Dursleys?"

"No, I am not." The firm nod and somewhat set jaw told Filius more than the boy probably intended. "I can only say that they are currently indisposed and I have another guardian in charge."

"I understand, I do need to meet up with your current guardian to confirm some issues, and at the same time." Filius glanced to where the staff was "there are materials I need to demonstrate." Harry got the idea and waved to the waitress to get the bill and remaining pastries to go. As he went to pay and apparently to make a call, Filius privately considered what to demonstrate to Harry's current guardian and what to do for the boy to entice him to Hogwarts. It seemed that Harry was currently not favouring the academy due to the subjects that were being taught; in the folder presented, it was quite staggering to see the difference in results. Evidently much of what was taught in the upper levels in Hogwarts was already considered as standard for the lower years, and then there was the issue of teaching standards by Binns and Snape. One would bring students to Morpheus's embrace with his constant droning on goblin rebellions, the other would reduce students to tears and berate them for anything not up to his standards. The latter was more concerning since that man bore a grudge towards James Potter and would likely carry it over to Harry, despite him being more of Lily's considering his attitude and study patterns.

Well if that man cannot look past his grudge, Filius was going to demonstrate how to beat the stupid grudge out with his wand!

"I am ready, professor." Harry came back to the table while carrying a to-go bag. "Shall we make our way?" Filius nodded and followed him out of the cafe, moving alongside him as they moved some distance away. Again Filius felt the presence of the wards on him and got the impression of the wolf seemingly stalking him, and so could not help the question coming out of his mouth.

"If I may ask Mister Potter, how are these wards made?" The boy's left eyebrow raised in a manner that conveyed confusion with a hint of amusement. "I know a thing or two on wards, and I already know that you have knowledge on magic and supposedly in contact with the goblins of Gringotts. This is certainly not your typical ward system." The half-goblin glanced at him at the corner of the eye and his mouth twitching. "I am not your enemy, and while I work for Albus at Hogwarts, I do not follow his teachings as much as the rest do. I do not agree with his methods and his actions as of late."

Harry paused by the road, prompting Filius to do the same as the boy looked at him with an expression that spoke of him pondering an idea. Then with a quick glance around him and a light nod, Harry continued walking but this time to a narrow alley between two blocks. He then stopped again to look upwards at certain points before turning around and looking Filius in the eye, adopting an expression of seriousness that by all accounts should not be on a boy his age.

"Can I trust you on this?" That comment drew a raised eyebrow from Filius who nodded at his odd question and expression. "Okay, why don't we take a faster route to my place?" Harry placed a hand on his shoulders before giving a smile that was similar to James Potter's that sent dread down his spine. "Don't blink." Before he could comment, the scenery around changed instantly from an alleyway to a room with some wood panelling and a single window that showed a tree outside.

"What in Merlin?!" Filius looked around while stepping back, his hand moving to his wand. He barely felt anything when they moved, it could not be Apparation nor could it be a Port-Key. It was too smooth and too quick of a transition, what was that method?

"Apologies for the suddenness." Harry spoke with a somewhat sheepish tone as he made his way to the plain door. "But if we are going to be honest with one another for this discussion, we are going to need a place that we can do that in peace. This place is warded to make sure no one knows where we are or hear what we have to say." He opened the door and motioned to the half-goblin. "My guardian is expecting us. Shall we proceed?"

~ooOOoo~

Harry let out a sigh as he sat in the chair, having returned from seeing Filius out of the house and back to the alleyway from whence they came through, sympathizing with the professor as he left the area in a daze. It had been a lengthy discussion that saw the sun set and twilight starting to come forth, and in some manner Harry could understand the confusion the professor must have felt regarding the content. It sounded outlandish even to him, and he was the one who got the information first-hand.

It was a risk to let someone from the magical school come to the safe-house he had procured with aid from Gringotts, and catch a glimpse of what he could do with his blend of magic, but based on his notes, his favourite journal and some information from the other goblins, Filius was perhaps his best possible ally to deal with Dumbledore.

That and perhaps he wanted to be a touch closer to someone who knew his mother in her youth as opposed to Petunia.

"Are you sure that was a wise decision?" Harry turned to the person who was designated as his 'guardian'. "He might inform Dumbledore about the discussion. And there is the high chance the old man would find more ways to limit your movements in order to get you to Hogwarts."

"Am I sure? Not really." Harry shook his head. "Call it a gut feeling, I believe that he can help us out in the future. Besides, I have already laid it out to the professor on the scholarships and subjects, not to mention other mundane-born have been asking about them as well. If I got it right, he is going to be the first step to solving our problem."

"What are the odds that Dumbledore would attempt to draft some legislation to force you in?"

"Pretty high actually." Harry stretched his arms as he mentally considered all the information he knew on the old mage. "It would not be the first time that Dumbledore would use his positions to create new laws that would restrict others while giving himself the advantage. It only depends on how transparent he is if he goes that route. I already have my solicitor standing by with a few rough plans in case he does try to do this."

"How would he do so in your opinion?" The 'guardian' asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Depends again on his thinking, he might go with the idea that all British citizens must study at Hogwarts for their education if they wish to inherit, that would be the neutral route of sorts. It's not the first time someone from the government attempts to draft that law. The reason it has not properly taken root because others have taken offense to the law since there are people who went abroad for their education and end up losing their inheritance because of it. There is also the case that others cannot afford Hogwarts tuition and end up being home-schooled. When the law was drafted, the government had to fork out a lot of money to get them in." Harry shrugged while shaking his head. "Evidently in their opinion, the taxpayer's money could be better used rather than bringing in the students from poorer families and giving them good education."

"If we were to go to extremes, he would likely push the angle on the silly 'Boy-Who-Lived' routine, how I must be staying at Hogwarts to 'preserve the integrity of the Great British Education', or how I could 'ruin the reputation of the greatest school in the world by not coming', or how I would be 'betraying my parents' for not being in Hogwarts. All while wrapping them all with a bow tie at the top with the words 'For the Greater Good'!" Harry snorted derisively much to the observer's amusement. "In any event, chances are good that even if I am forced to go to Hogwarts, I will have the cards stacked in my favour because I know for a fact that Dumbledore will attempt to bring me over and if done right, I can make a fair bit of trouble for him while ensuring the mundane-born can benefit. The goblins themselves already warned me about the inheritance issue so I got that route handled, and thanks to them, I can continue my regular education if necessary."

"Considering the money you are helping them make, they will definitely be assisting you aplenty." The 'guardian' gave a snort himself. "But you are in a sense going to Hogwarts."

"True, but Dumbledore and the wizards do not know it yet." Harry answered mischievously. "I want to see their response before making the decision."

"How about the idea of him proclaiming to be your magical guardian? I may be serving as your guardian for both sides for now, but people still believe him to be so." The 'guardian' voiced out that thought.

"That should not be too much of an issue considering the debacle from last time with my interview and the article on Dumbledore's ousting from Gringotts. Most people would not know this but my solicitor was able to gather evidence of the Dursleys abusing me and the vaults being pilfered, and with some assistance from the Magical Child Services, which should have been brought in the first place after my parent's deaths, proven that he was acting illegally as my true guardian's proxy. Since my real guardian is unavailable, he was able to pull a few legal strings to make it such that Dumbledore can no longer claim to be my magical guardian for matters concerning magic and putting the word out after the matter was done. He has made it clear to the proper channels that you and one other are now the ones in charge, and we made it such that anyone without my interests at hand would not be able to tell anyone about it. Even the good professor from earlier cannot tell Dumbledore thanks to the charm. And of course, we do have the other option that is already being finalized as a last resort."

"And if the real guardian comes out before that last resort is done?"

"From what I have gathered, that might be a small possibility." Harry crossed his arms while answering. "I don't know the real reason, but the goblins told me that the man who was supposed to take care of me after my parent's deaths is currently in prison for something that they believed is fake. And while his case was supposedly mishandled by two others, Dumbledore was someone who knew the secret and allowed him to be imprisoned. I can't say what due to the oaths involved, but I can say that my real guardian being free means that Dumbledore would have less control. If that man is to be freed, it would probably be on his own terms to make sure I can be under his thumb indirectly. That is circumvented with you taking his place and the other person as backup."

"Why haven't you told anyone then?" That question drew a smirk from Harry that would not look out of place on shark that had smelt a fresh kill in the water.

"The more Dumbledore claims to be my guardian and does something that is definitely not in my interests or with permission, the more rope is going around his neck. Gringotts already ensured that my vaults are not his personal piggy-banks, while my solicitor is already making a fair amount of ground on suing him, the authors of those silly books and the others using my name without paying a dime. Interesting fact, Dumbledore has been taking a good fifty percent of those profits on the side." Harry answered with a type of glee that should not be from a soon-to-be-eleven child. "And while my family may not have been involved in politics, we still have a few seats that Dumbledore has been trying to use or block for the Wizengamot and other panels of the Ministry. I have already claimed my inheritance alongside the vaults and done the paperwork for them with Gringotts having finalized them on the sly to make sure he or his order of spies could not circumvent them, not to mention my solicitor having written statements on them. Once Dumbledore tries something in the Wizengamot, it would be one big fireworks display for us. Even better, we are trying to gain access to the man who was supposedly my real magical guardian. If done right, we can at least remove a fair bit of Dumbledore's power base."

"It would seem you have covered your bases for now. Remind me not to underestimate you or piss you off despite your young age." The 'guardian' nodded before making their way to the door. "I will alert the agency on this. I suppose we should prepare for Dumbledore's response on our end." Harry nodded and watched him exiting the premises before he locked up the safe-house and teleported himself back to his factory home to deal with his homework and experiments.

He was going to be having a very busy month if his predictions were correct, he would need to get his plans prepared.


	6. Book 1-05

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 5

**Posted Date:** April 10 2020

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Filius made his way out of the office while carrying his customary suitcase to the meeting room where the headmaster had called for the annual staff meeting that normally dealt with issues before the term starts on the first of September, somewhat thankful for the fact that he was alone for now to gather his thoughts on all that had happened.

It has been 4 days since his meeting with the young Potter, during which Filius had been gathering facts and compiling a list of points to be taken note of. Despite the conversation he had with Harry, Filius was not the Head of Ravenclaw without bothering to do his research on the education levels and the advancements in the muggle world. (Or perhaps it should be considered 'non-magical' world? He would think about it later.) In the four days he spent researching, his perception had been thrown about like he was in one of Gringotts carts set to the highest speed going in loops. He did have some idea about the education levels having dropped with the budget cuts and cancellation of classes, not to mention the document provided by Harry, but this was damning. Hogwarts used to boast being in the top ten in the early 1700s with plenty of graduates achieving the minimum of EE for the major core subjects with no Trolls for other subjects, but it started dropping in the ranks around the late 1800s and early 1900s. Around the late 1950s after Grindelwald's defeat, Hogwarts was ranked 50th in the education level. By the time of Voldemort's reign of terror, Hogwarts was ranked 68 with Defence Against the Dark Arts being the one subject that had the highest graduates due to the push for more Aurors to deal with the war.

Now it was hitting the 74th rank, out of 103 academies across the world. The only reason Hogwarts was not lower was due to their core subjects holding the rank up, but it was barely holding on when compared to Beauxbatons and even Durmstrang.

It was not just because of education that brought the level down; there were other factors that contributed to the drop based on the students' behaviour, the manner the staff performed their tasks, the environment and so on. A part of him was relieved that he was considered one of the nicer staff based on the report he had obtained, but he was downright dismayed at how many of his former students were angry at how they were essentially lied to for working so hard at an education only to be denied a place in their country due to blood prejudice, and then to be ridiculed by other countries for the mediocre education that had plenty of muggle-borns or half-bloods floundering and forced to return to the muggle world to get back to their old roots.

This could not go on any longer.

He had considered all that have been discussed and revealed to him, and this only deepened Filius's desire to do right for Lily's son. He had seen what was going on at Hogwarts and Britain for the past few years, and he was determined to fix it whatever way he could to make sure Harry would have a safe learning experience even if he may not come to Hogwarts. It was perhaps a good thing the annual pre-term meeting was called as he could deliver his ideas and doubly so that Severus was not around for the meeting due to a potions convention that saw him out of the castle for the next few days. He had no doubt that the man would try to argue against this.

He came to the room where some of the staff were already seated and chatting with one another. He greeted Septima Vector and Hagrid before taking a seat, taking out a notebook and a folder for his demonstration later. It was not long until the rest have arrived with Albus bringing up the rear in his ever color-confusing robes. Filius had pondered whether Albus was wearing those robes due to senility or to make his opposition dismiss him as eccentric and therefore harmless, something he believed strongly to be the latter. As those thoughts went through his mind, Albus took a seat in his chair and looked to them with a smile and twinkling eyes.

"Good morning to you all, I trust that everyone is ready for the start of the term?" He looked around him at the faces of the staff. "Well then, let's begin the meeting."

From there, the meeting went on more or less the same as other meetings: Madam Hooch complaining about the quality of brooms and needing funds (which Albus refused), Filch complaining about Peeves and wanting him gone (which Albus refused), Sinistra wanting better equipment for her Astronomy Tower (which Albus refused), the complaints towards Severus's constant point taking and giving (which Albus refused), other teachers complaining about the Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry getting out of hand in their lessons and in corridors, and wanting him to do something about it (which Albus deflected and eventually refused), and other matters that was almost the same. Then came the part on prospective students and their questions.

"There are a few who want to know more about our subjects." Minerva pulled out a list from her robes to read. "As of late, there have been a number of muggle-borns asking for muggle subjects. This year has the highest request to date, evidently there is some educational reform going on that I am not aware of and this would affect a lot of them if they don't follow their education well." She looked troubled as she looked to them. "I understand that we have to get muggle-borns into Hogwarts to teach them about their magic, but we have also been losing numbers due to their requests for muggle subjects that we don't provide. From what I understand, a fair number are standard for their education and if they can't have those subjects, they would just look elsewhere for both sides."

"That is also the case on my part." Filius used that opening to make his move. "I had a few of them asking about the subjects, both muggle-born and muggle raised half-bloods, and I had to ask a few of my ex-students about the subjects that are common in the muggle world. These subjects are something extremely important to their future, and despite what most of us would think, they do need something to function in the muggle world despite having magic."

"Has it really gotten to that point?" Pomona Sprout asked curiously, genuinely having no idea about the education system for muggles.

"It has, and while the pure-bloods probably don't care that much, education standards have been changing greatly in the muggle world to the point that ignorance would prove detrimental to our stature of secrecy and economy in the long run. I have complied a list of the names that Minerva and I have discussed for those students, and I know of one prospective who is seriously considering going abroad to other academies that allowed both magical and muggle education to be done because he was offered several scholarships to some of the more renowned muggle academies. He has been doing those studies by an accelerated program and does not want to give them up." Filius answered while watching Albus stroking his beard. "I know we had students in the past doing their own self-studies for muggle education, Lily was one who could do so. Why don't we use this year as a test-bed to see if we can implement full time for the next batch?"

"I suppose we could attempt this with proper scheduling." The old wizard mused as he looked thoughtful. "May we know the names?" Filius took out the list of names and began reading them out while mentally preparing for the possible outburst.

"Sally Ann Perks, Justin Finch Fletchley, Hermione Granger, Sue Li, Daniel Winchester, Fay Dunbar, Bernard Maltby…" Filius kept one eye on Dumbledore as he prepared to say the next set of names "Grace Nutley, Harry Potter, Scott Summers…"

"Excuse me, did you just say Harry Potter?" Septima interrupted being the closest to hear the names. "Mister Potter wants to study muggle subjects?" That definitely got the rest of the staff to talk, but it was the reaction from Albus that was most telling. The old man was clearly shocked and there was a hint of panic and anger in his eyes before his expression smoothed over and changed to one of grandfatherly curiosity.

"Why would he want to go to a muggle institution? I thought his name was on the list since his birth." Bathsheda Babbling asked only to be interrupted by Albus who leaned forward with twinkling eyes at Filius.

"You have met Mister Potter?" Albus's tone was polite and curious with an undercurrent of earnest desire that set the hair on Filius's neck straight up. "Curious you happened to meet him, I was not aware of it."

"I received the letter when Minerva was out the other day and went to the location where the flock of owls were making a mess of the area." Filius told a half-truth considering the time he had his discussion with Harry, there had been some owls carrying the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter flying past the area. Harry was amused as he looked up at something that he could see and remarked that someone was really desperate to find him to send out that many. The boy must have known that the headmaster was behind the flock of owls trying to find him. "It is kind of hard not to miss owls carrying our letters to some spot before hovering around the area."

"If I may ask, where is that location?" Albus asked only for Filius to direct a stern glare at him.

"First off, he was only visiting someone there. Secondly, I believe that I had warned you about sending in multiple requests to someone who only just got the letter without a chance to reply. One of the Obliviators was there trying to understand why the owls were appearing there and I had to get Mister Potter out of there to avoid issues." Filius growled fiercely. "Thirdly, that is not the topic on the table."

"Mister Potter's name is on the list so he is guaranteed to come here, and considering I am his magical guardian, I should be wondering why he is refusing." Albus spoke only to be interrupted by Filius.

"No, you are certainly not his magical guardian." Filius snapped. "You seemed to have forgotten about that debacle two years ago where you were placed under a restraining order to not go to him. I have gone to check the records and gotten it confirmed with the boy that he is currently with new guardians, both magical and non-magical. Now stop propagating those lies and let us return to the topic?" Albus clearly wanted to continue only to be restrained by Minerva.

"We can discuss about the whereabouts and legal matters of Mister Potter later after the meeting." Minerva looked at Albus with eyes that clearly demonstrated that she would likely have words with him on the topic and that it was in his good health to stay silent for the time being. She then turned to Filius with some hint of curiosity. "That being said, am I right in asking that Mister Potter is the one who has the offers from the muggle academies?"

"Indeed, he is the one." Filius answered while maintaining a cool gaze at Albus. "If you want to know why he is considering going to a different school, you can thank his muggle _relatives_" - his goblin heritage was evident by the growl that got the more squeamish moving back a few steps - "for that bit. The young man has been abused physically and emotionally from an early age and constantly told lies about his parents being no-good drunks whom died in a car crash and that he should have died with them to save them the money." That earned shocked expressions from the staff and a particularly venomous glare from Minerva directed at Albus who seemed to want to interrupt but unable to from the tightening grip. "The boy thankfully decided to ignore them and went on to study on multiple subjects that saw him being fast-tracked for higher education, even if that earned him a few hard hits for performing better than his cousin."

"I'm sure the boy is exaggerating." Albus tried to speak only to earn a shake of the head from Filius and an even tighter grip from Minerva that made him wince.

"He is not. I told you I went to check on records about his status. He was admitted to the muggle hospital after an incident that saw them arrested and sent to prison, and then upon his first visit to Diagon Alley, he got some of the Goblin Healers to check on him. Considering the amount of swearing in our mother language, I wager the muggle healers were understating the injuries instead."

"What is your impression of the boy?" Septima asked as an attempt to stop the headmaster from arguing and to learn more of the young wizard.

"He is an intelligent and polite young man who can be a touch blunt when delivering points. He is quite well-known around the town for being an intellectual who has been offered scholarships to several high-schools and at least one university. That would be the education equivalent for a mastery after Hogwarts." Filius added after seeing confused expressions about the university portion. "The muggle academies are very competitive for those with great talents, and considering he also has an interest in the arts-and-crafts alongside languages, he has no shortage of academies to choose from. From what I gathered from the locals, him obtaining this university scholarship at his age is almost unheard of and would see doors opening with opportunities for him."

"He is however very cautious." Filius added as he recalled his conversation and decided which portions to talk of. "During our discussion, he was particularly careful in giving out information and withholding those that he wanted to be kept secret. It is my belief that he had thought of the magical world providing answers to questions he had and a way of ensuring his own safety. He had mentioned about those who had helped him disappearing without a trace before the incident. When I find whoever decided to interfere with his life, I will make that person pay dearly for harming Lily's son." Filius gripped his hand tightly at that. While a few nodded, Filius, Pomona and Minerva noted Albus's expression getting lines of panic at his words. The half-goblin had half expected something based on his discussion with Harry, but this seemed to confirm his theory that Albus had something to do with it.

"What are the issues he has against attending Hogwarts?" Minerva asked. To that, Filius handed over the folder that listed key points from his discussion with Harry, limited strictly to what he felt should be known to them.

"His main issues are related to education. He is used to having quality education and the option of studying ahead, something that a couple of our own students had done in the past. He understands the need to control his magic, not that he has issues on that department considering the demonstration he showed me."

"Wait, he was already performing magic?" Minerva perked up while others showed interest in the topic, while Albus seemed to be restraining himself of something.

"Simple tasks like levitation and summoning, but done easily without a wand." Filius felt he could tell them that much, after all he was telling them something that most kids would likely be able to if given the chance, though for Harry's part, he was quite focused in the task. "In any case, he is open to learning magic, but he wishes to continue his muggle studies for his scholarships. He has researched other schools and I am sad to report that our academics are severely lacking."

"But Hogwarts is one of the best in the world." Albus spoke out.

"We are not the best in the world, merely the best in Europe." Septima countered as she flipped through the papers that was handed to her. "The other academies around the world have been leading for the past couple of decades, and even here in Europe we are barely pulling ahead of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang due to the core subjects." She turned to Filius with a glance. "These are accurate I presume?"

"I got them from the source and researched further." Filius crossed his arms. "We are supposed to be one of the best academies yet we are trailing behind. We are being mocked for not upholding the standards we keep boasting about, be it educational, security or otherwise. As it stands, these factors work against us in getting more students into Hogwarts, and in the case of Mister Potter, he will definitely not be convinced into coming here."

"He must come to Hogwarts!" Albus seemed to have gotten agitated enough to push Minerva's arm off and slammed both hands on the desk, drawing stares from the staff at his behaviour. "People would be expecting him to come there in September. The consequences would be catastrophic if he is not in Hogwarts!"

"Well then, if you want to get the boy here, you better start cracking on it." Filius raised an eyebrow while internally smirking at the reaction. "Again, his education standards are high, and this set of documents are just a copy. There is one prepared for the Ministry to read as it is technically involving the education department there. In short, we need the major areas fixed thoroughly, so that would mean History, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions at the very least." He pointed to the folder that was now on the table after it had been passed around. "He knows about our staff, so you should focus on that. I do know that he plans to hire a tutor in the event that they can't be dealt with. It is in our charter so you cannot disapprove it."

"As his magical guardian..."

A loud slap on the desk that saw small cracks issuing from the impact interrupted Albus's sentence as Filius looked at him with a quiet fury that saw Minerva and Hooch moving everyone back from the potential blow-up. "I believe I just told you that I had checked thoroughly on Harry's guardianship, and that you should stop propagating those lies. Perhaps you were his guardian in the early years, but considering the restraining order, the arrests of those muggles, and other factors I have confirmed with my fellow brethren from Gringotts, you did not perform your duties as you should." He took back his hand to reveal a big hand-print in the hard wood table. "Stop wasting time, stop your lying and focus on your duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts. Right now, we have students who want to carry on their muggle education, and we need to plan carefully." The two of them stared at each other with an intensity that saw a few of the staff nervously gripping their wands in preparation of casting a protection shield. After a few more seconds, Albus seemed to sag into the chair and nodded.

"We will see to a test year for them. If it works, we may try for another few years." He answered. With that, the staff got back into their seats and nervously tried to come up with a suitable arrangement for those children to do their studies. The meeting ended on a rather odd note and they were about to leave when Albus asked for Filius to stay back. The half-goblin stayed put alongside Minerva who looked like she wanted answers one way or the other. Albus waited for the staff to leave the meeting room before raising his wand to apply silencing and security wards. Once done, he lowered it down and took a moment to center himself.

"I have entertained your little request, now I would like you to answer my questions." Albus seemed to give off an aura of wrath as he looked over his glasses at the half-goblin. "Where did you meet Harry Potter?"

"In the area where you left him." Filius looked back with a cool gaze, daring Albus to try and read his mind. "He wanted a discussion on his education with one of us after he met someone in the area."

"Who is his _guardian_ then?" There was a certain tone of frustration, curiosity and something that got both his and Minerva's hair on end. It was clear that Albus did not expect his loss of guardianship over Harry to be voiced out so openly and he wanted to do some form of damage control.

"Someone who has already taken steps to fix Harry as best as he could." Filius answered clearly. That gave Minerva the opening to fire both wands at Albus.

"I told you that those muggles were the worst sort and that Harry should not be raised there! Did you listen?! No, you bloody did not!" Her Scottish accent was coming out in her agitation. "Abused to the point of needing the goblin healers! Lied to about his parents being drunks! You keep assuring me that he was safe, but from I just heard, you don't know bollocks about his safety and just left him there!"

"The blood wards..."

"They don't mean anything to those with same blood that can touch him!" Minerva got in real close to Albus and practically hissed her words out. "I will help Mister Potter and those students to continue their education and I will see to it that Mister Potter's expectations be met properly. _Without. Any. Interference._" Filius could not help but wonder how on earth she managed to deliver the amount of venom in those words without raising her tone. Albus looked back to Filius in an effort to distract himself from Minerva.

"Do you know which schools have offered Mister Potter those scholarships?"

"No, and even if I do, I won't be telling you." Filius replied with his mind arts clamping on the rage bubbling at the question. "If you try to interfere with his education and life again, he will know and would more than likely spite you by going to a different school. I did not tell him about you, but he is smart and since he has already been to Diagon Alley before, and people had told him that you were his supposed guardian, odds are very good that he knows who you are and is suspecting you of his placement with those muggles."

"Then what do you suggest we should do?" Minerva asked after taking a few deep breaths.

"Give him options on what is possible and let him choose what he wants. He is looking up information on all the different academies to determine which would provide the best education. From my discussion, he has yet to decide on taking up the offers of the scholarships or to take the magical education that allows continuation of his muggle studies." Filius told them upfront before looking at Albus specifically. "Do not try to restrict him with laws that would only drive him away. He knows he has inherited enough money to disappear in the muggle world and to hire tutors for magic lessons."

"We do need to increase our standards. The core subjects that I spoke of are related to staff issues. We can't do anything about the Defence class due to the curse, but we can handle the other two. Binns has become legendary in his method of sending our students to sleep, Saint Mungo has actually requested him to come to them to assist with those suffering from insomnia." Minerva snorted at that remark. "And as for Severus…"

"Severus is someone I trust and…" Filius waved away Albus's most practiced speech used in Hogwarts while Minerva gave her opinion by rolling her eyes.

"He is a problem that you cannot keep covering forever, no matter how much you seemed to believe in your position. You know he has a bad history with James Potter in the past. You know that his behavior towards anyone not from his house has seen plenty fail their potions and costing this nation our aurors, healers and potion masters. You also know that he will likely pick on Harry if he comes to Hogwarts. Honestly speaking, if I did not know any better, I would say that you are encouraging him to weaken this country for some dubious reason." The half-goblin held up a hand to stop the potential counter-argument. "It is one thing to be strict in a field that could see people getting hurt if they are not careful, it is a totally different matter to be outright bullying and degrading students on perceived slights while abusing their authority. All of us know this and are very fed up with it. You will get him under control before that information reaches the education department." With that, Filius turned around and went to the door, pausing to look back at them.

"We only have about a month to deal with this. I will try to make contact with the young man and hopefully convince him to come to Hogwarts. I need not remind you of the fiasco that would come about if he does not come on the train in September, so please clean up this house." With that, he left the room and walked off, hearing the distinct tone of Minerva's yelling even in the distance. Filius would let her do her bit on bringing together something for the students to handle the muggle subjects.

He had a letter to write to Harry Potter.

~ooOOoo~

It was a busy morning at Diagon Alley on the second last day of July. Being so close to the date Hogwarts begins its term, the streets were getting filled with both current and prospective students going about buying the essentials for their lessons. It was utter chaos to say the least with vendors shouting out bargains, animals clamoring, people trying to redraw their money from the goblins and the occasional temperamental child wanting the latest Quidditch broomstick, so one could be forgiven for not noticing a certain boy making his way to Gringotts, pausing briefly to bow and greet the goblin guards before moving on, and then getting a goblin personally guide him into the inner offices.

"By the gods, the amount of noise out on the floor." Harry shook his head while looking at his guide with slight disbelief. "How on earth do you fellows not want to silence them, or at least tell them to be quieter?" The goblin snorted in amusement as they turned around the corridor.

"Simple, we have a sound-dampening charm around our booths to ensure we don't get distracted or annoyed by them. Very good when you have the usual wizard trying to command us to release more gold to them." Harry chuckled at the reply and the image in his mind. They soon reached an office that had a few emblems on it to represent the different families the account manager was in charge of. "This is where I leave you, Mister Potter."

"My thanks, Griphook. May fortune look upon you and your clan favorably." Harry reached into his pocket and took out a Galleon to give a tip to him. "Compliments to your help." The goblin guide nodded his head and walked back to the atrium, privately thinking that he was lucky to be around to guide the boy. Harry was known to be very polite to the goblins unless they earned his ire, (which happened once to very interesting results) and he tend to tip them well on occasions. More often than not, he would give ideas that had helped the goblins and Gringotts in a number of ways that benefited both sides. He was going to make sure to stay on the boy's good side.

Not knowing the thoughts of his goblin guide, Harry turned to the door and politely knocked on it to alert the goblin inside. Hearing him call out, Harry opened the door and entered the room that had dark granite walls and tiled floors that complimented them nicely and increase the fear factor of sorts. At the end of the room stood a dark mahogany table that had gold trimmings and silver etchings of goblin marks, practically screaming the importance of the goblin that was currently seated behind. The goblin, who happened to be the Potter Manager for his family, was one of the 'younger' managers, by that he meant the goblin was at least in his eighties and still able to take on twenty seasoned wizards with his bare hands. Seated opposite of him and to the side was another goblin that was called in for the meeting, also considered one of the 'younger' goblins and a goblin in charge of a different set of vaults.

They aged very well apparently.

"Manager Sharpclaw, Manager Irontooth." Harry greeted while slightly bowing his head. "May enemies coat your blades with their blood and their fortune increase your own."

"Mister Potter." The two goblin managers bowed their heads as once, something that would make many a wizard or a witch look in shock since goblins were a proud race. "May your enemies fall before you and their wealth join yours." The Potter Manager glanced up with a light twinkle in the eye. "Your lessons are paying off, it seems."

"I hope so, the last thing I want is to start the next goblin rebellion that could take down the government." Harry replied as he took a seat at the chair provided. "Even if it would be quite the sight to see the idiots over there wondering if they should be fighting or begging for mercy." The goblins let out a dark and amused chuckle at his words. The boy was quite an unusual character for the goblins to decipher. "Shall we commence with our meeting? Time is money after all."

"Indeed." His manager shuffled some parchments before handing them to Harry. "Here are the updates regarding the estates and last bits of your inheritance. Potter Manor and Lily's Pad have been fully restored while the old Fleamont Apothecary is almost complete with the repairs and upgrades. The other buildings related to your grandparents are also up and running, while other properties that were too damaged or not workable have been sold off with the proceeds moved to the designated vault. We also managed to retrieve majority of the items that were removed from the old vaults illegally, and after checking them thoroughly have been placed into the separate artefact vault. Those that were unfortunately gone, we appraised them and fined those responsible." The goblin let out a grunt that was half annoyance and half satisfaction. "With that, we can finally close the last of the old vaults. Those have been costing us a lot of time and money, not to mention the idiots who keep trying to claim ignorance to their stealing."

"I suppose you make sure to hit their vaults extra hard?" Harry remarked while looking up from the document he was reading.

"With interest." The grin of teeth set on both goblins was enough to make a man run for the hills, for Harry though, he made one of his own in agreement, making sure no teeth were shown to avoid potential arguments.

"Does this mean all the keys have been taken back?" Harry asked.

"Everything but an illegal copy." Sharpclaw admitted with a frown. "We still have the master keys as they were already set to return upon the owner's death, and based on our investigations we were able to get back the copies made from them and changed the security accordingly or close the vaults as per your orders. The good news is that since majority of the inherited vaults did not contain that much Galleons to begin with and meant to hold books of certain information, they were left untouched. For the few that got hit, we got the money back and moved."

"But one particular key keeps evading us along with selected artefacts from the Potter Vault." He looked at Harry in the eye. "We do know that transactions with that key always happen on your birthday when your trust vault refills the amount. We hope to get that and maybe the location of the other items by tomorrow."

Harry nodded with a big frown at the bit of information. All of them knew who it was that had the key and some heirlooms taken before the vault was locked down, the problem would be proving it since that person was slippery as a blasted eel with all the regulations and the people on his side. His solicitor was already on the task, but Harry needed both time and patience to gather the evidence and present it to the appropriate people.

"Onto more pleasant matters." Irontooth presented his folder as a clear attempt to change the subject and move the conversation along. "Your investments have been growing nicely, and the other businesses under the different aliases are flourishing." The goblin turned to Harry with a glint in his eye that suggested respect. "I will admit, I was certain that the ideas you had suggested would fail, yet you proved me wrong by going about it in a manner that proved most profitable."

Harry bowed his head respectively while internally preening with pride at his words. When Harry had stepped foot in Gringotts for the first time, he was honestly in shock at the sight of the goblins and their attitudes to the wizards in general. He also recalled how his first introduction to one of the goblin tellers seemed to surprise a fair number of them considering he threw together some words to try and greet them respectfully after watching the denizens interact with them. From there it snowballed to meeting his manager and other goblins who had questions for him, and in turn getting a lot of answers to questions that he had and more. After that he had visited the bank the few times to understand the magical world better while fixing his issues as best as he could, with the relationship being mostly professional but enough for him to give out ideas that most would consider silly at best but profitable for all in the end.

One such idea was the creation of an alternate alley for new-bloods (a term coined by Filius for muggle-borns when he wrote back to Harry after their discussion) and half-bloods raised outside to set up shop and for them to patronage, somewhat in direct opposition to the infamous Knockturn Alley. There was already something of the sort built in the past, but it was poorly maintained and not well-frequented due to the blood prejudice and the poor location it was in, accessible only through a door that was dismissed by others easily. That did not stop Harry from using some of his inheritance to first repair the alley and then to invest in either the shops or new entrepreneurs who had great ideas to take root there, all while asking Gringotts to quietly spread the word to others to visit the alley if they want commodities normally found in mundane Britain. It helped that there was an unused street near the end of said alley that the goblins helped to convert into an alternate entrance way, allowing others to enter there instead of the Leaky Cauldron and bypassing Diagon Alley all together. Harry's ambition was to use said Alley (renamed Innovatio Alley) as a test-bed for newer products and more modern productivity before bringing it over to Diagon Alley, and it was already paying dividends by the first month when he was about to hit ten years of age. His vault made specifically for the alley's rental and profit cuts was overflowing with Galleons and his managers were practically crooning with joy at the amount they were making.

"Indeed, that latest idea you had involving the renting of apartments to the muggle-borns, werewolves and occasional vampires is also quite profitable and useful for us." Sharpclaw agreed with genuine happiness evident in his tone. "Considering their respective issues to work in both worlds, having an actual location to stay in without the usual hassle of losing it would be a boon to them. Give them something that guarantees a stable income, add that we can use their abilities for different services that don't bother with their traits, and voila! You are now known as one of the best landlords for Innovatio." Sharpclaw chuckled at this point. "Well, at least you are known by your alias, Mister Silver."

"It pays to be prepared, not to mention the common sense involved." Harry shrugged. "We have a group of people with skills and talents that no one in Britain wants to use because of blood prejudice, curses and racism. If there is one thing I hate, it is wasted potential. And if anyone tries to press the issue on werewolves, I will just tell them what my solicitor said was the case. Though I do not really understand what he meant." A raised eyebrow from the goblins prompted his reply. "He said that the werewolves basically undergo the same issues as women, having a period once a month that makes them cranky. He then stated that women are worse since they have it for a full week, whatever that means." Harry got the front row seat to the sight of goblins gaping at his answer, before laughing loudly and banging the desk with their fists.

"Werewolves having a period! God, I have got to remember that one for the next meeting!" Irontooth was starting to wheeze for laughing too much, but managed to control himself to a chuckle to get back some air. They were still chuckling when someone knocked on the door and another goblin entered with a folder, pausing at the two acting so uncharacteristically, before turning to Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Was there a joke that I missed out hearing, Mister Potter?"

"You might hear it later, Manager Gnarlfang. Maybe you can explain that part to me." Harry rose to greet him only to be waved off by the goblin.

"From the looks of it, that might have to be done after working hours." The corner of Gnarlfang's mouth curved upwards despite the tone. "It is fortunate that you are here, this way we don't have to go about wasting time. We can perform the next session of healing later before noon, this should cover the final portions of treatment that would fix the last of your issues."

The goblin then handed Harry the folder with it open and directing his attention to a certain page. "You will be pleased to hear that the purchase of the old stores at the far end of Knockturn Alley has been successful. Considering the tenants there had been racking up a fair amount of debt, we were able to purchase their properties with minimum amounts so that they could avoid working in the mines to pay it off." Harry decided to ignore Gnarlfang's tone of disappointment and mutters on missed opportunities as he listened on to the goblin's report. "And since the location is practically next door to Innovatio Alley and far from the main street of Knockturn, we are able to wall the area off, thus getting more real-estate space and included a couple of safeguards to ensure the residents cannot force their way through that side. Highly doubtful considering there were barely any residents there to begin with and the previous store owners were barely making any money from their wares."

"That is good at least. I refuse to have people using the old stores for something illegal, and with the area walled off, I don't have to worry about attacks from that alley." Harry nodded as he looked through the documents given to him. "I assume the stores are ready for renovation?"

"They have been stripped, broken down and combined to create the necessary workspace for the proposed jobs you have in mind. Miss Caroline was most pleased when she inspected the store designated for her, she was practically singing praises for you despite your alias." Harry nodded in satisfaction at that remark. Miss Caroline was one of the new-blood graduates who had talent and ideas to bring Magical Britain into the modern world that Harry wanted to discuss and trade ideas with. He met her about a year ago and was happy to talk with someone who did not immediately swoon over his perceived title and was able to talk about similar interests. He saw how despondent she was at her old job in Flourish and Blotts or the times she would be scorned for her blood type, so decided to get Gringotts to help her out by granting her a spot at Innovatio Alley to give her a chance to grab her dreams. And he was right about her intelligence as she immediately guessed that it was him under an alias due to the timing and the specific requirements that fitted her to a T.

With what he had in mind, her skill-set would be most beneficial.

"Next bit of news, the last set of rings had been made." That bit of news got the other two goblins to stop laughing and look a bit more serious. "As you know, you are able to claim your inheritance earlier than most due to your unique position as last heir of your family, not to mention the last member of those other families. While you are able to have the Potter Ring among others, we have to keep it silent to avoid certain parties from knowing. And since you are now the last true heir of those other families, it is best that you have something to prove those fools of your legitimacy once word comes out of it, not to mention the protections that come with them. After the treatment we can proceed to testing for final validation. Just in the nick of time too."

"Why is that?" Irontooth asked.

"It would seem a certain old fool is trying to pass that silly law regarding family inheritance in the Ministry. **_A_****_gain_**." Gnarlfang rolled his eyes in frustration. "This is the fourth time he is pushing for the law to be approved, but with how many others that could be affected, you would think he would remember that the Dark Families at the least would not allow him to do so, even if they are under the impression that he is trying to restrict them, let alone his own supporters who have heirs of their own. But since you have already claimed your inheritance by right of blood, conquest, trials and as last of the families, his law is honestly a waste of time unless he is trying to ensure other heirs cannot do so without his say-so."

"I wonder if it is because I am at the age where I am supposed to obtain some of my inheritance as dictated by law and supposedly going to Hogwarts?" Harry mused before pausing at a thought. "Or it could be my discussion with Professor Flitwick."

"You spoke with Filius?" Sharpclaw raised an eyebrow at the boy who nodded.

"He was the one that answered my reply to the Hogwarts acceptance letter. I was considering my education options and wanted to see if we can have an ally on our side."

"That must be the case then. You appearing in our world early was not in Dumbledore's plans, not to mention him being denied access to your vaults and the fines imposed on him must be frustrating to him. It is very likely that he has now found out about your discussion and the idea of you not arriving at Hogwarts must have set the bee on his beard." Gnarlfang checked a parchment he took out of his pocket. "That might explain why he included a new clause that spoke of any British heirs of a certain family lineage and age having to come to Hogwarts to avoid losing the inheritance."

"That might work if not for the fact that my family is not considered one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." Harry pointed out that little tidbit of history. This was perhaps one of the rare moments blood prejudice helped Harry out as it was a blood bigot that wrote the list of family names and felt that the Potter Family with all the non-magicals married into the family and viewpoints was not worthy despite the history of the family.

"Indeed, it would appear the man is basically trying to put in as many parameters as he can to ensure that he can get everyone, and more likely you, within his net. He is getting quite desperate." Gnarlfang paused to give the boy a very serious look. "A word of caution, Mister Potter. As the last of those families and the holder for vaults granted to you, you have a responsibility to stay alive and well at all times. I am not just saying this as one of the managers of the oldest vaults, nor as a goblin who is interested in the gold that is coming in. I am saying it as one whom you are willing to give trust when you have no reason to do so, and I suppose" Gnarlfang muttered lightly while the other two goblins grinned knowingly at his discomfort. "As a friend, it would not do for you to fall before your time."

On his part, Harry took it in stride and bowed deeply to Gnarlfang with an open hand above his heart, following the lesson pounded into his head to show respect. He was grateful for what the goblins have done for him, and this latest act was one that would take the cake. An Inheritance Test to determine his identity and his vaults revealed truths that were quite hard to swallow even by goblin standards, and considering how the pure-bloods of Magical Britain and some other countries behaved, it would be safe to assume that they would try to accuse him of Line-Theft before taking them away from him. Among the different vaults found, there were a few connected to old family lines that would definitely set the wizards on fire, or as Irontooth would put it, _"kick the dragon's nest and piss on the eggs"_, if they were to find out about them. Considering the history of said family lines, rings were required to be crafted and be given the necessary protections, among more intensive research and testing, to ensure he would be recognized as the rightful owner to the vaults and rightful heir to the families in question.

"I thank you for the time and patience that you and your companions have expanded to deal with the issues, and the concerns you have for my well-being." Harry thanked him and the goblins in the room in the proper manner before pausing. "I don't suppose 'that' issue was dealt with?"

"Unfortunately for you, it is a definite nope! While these facts confirmed the illegal contracts that we have found on you and thus effectively voided on all accounts without the remotest chance of people trying to enforce it, it does not change the fact that as the head of several families, you are now expected to… well, 'perform your duties as Head / Heir of the Great Lines' based on laws that even the Ministry cannot change." Sharpclaw called out from the desk. "It is pretty much set in stone and enforced by Mother Magic herself so there is no way to go around it." The goblin snorted in good humour. "In a way, you inherited your grandfather's, uncle's and your ancestor's weird luck. Something with a ridiculous amount of conditions that by all accounts should not be met end up coming together at once, and you Mister Potter are the lucky fellow of sorts." Harry groaned while cupping his face in his hands. Indeed, it was as though God himself made sure the circumstances were just right before rolling the damn dice on his behalf and taking the moment to laugh at Harry's situation.

"Finally, the next batch of muggle currency is ready for your purchase. Thank you so much for helping us get rid of them." Gnarlfang answered as he pointed out that bit on the paper in an overly exaggerated manner to show that he wanted to ignore what happened earlier.

"My pleasure, it is a waste to just destroy those currencies." Harry paused before giving a smirk. "In fact, I might have an idea or two to solve your problems regarding them. This will help the new-bloods with the exchange rates, give them and others possible jobs, give you guys a chance to strengthen your own currency and connections to other talents not yet taken in, and give me an opportunity to improve payment methods and businesses, and more importantly, give us all the chance to really get one up on the wizards if they try something." The goblins all perked up and grabbed blank parchments in a practised motion, more than used to Harry giving out ideas that at times might be weird or insane, but would work out in the best manner possible.

To give some perspective, his least profitable move involved the previously mentioned idea of renting out apartments to those discriminated by the people of Britain. It was a risky venture considering how prejudiced people could be to the point of destroying properties to 'cleanse the filth', but Harry got around it by placing the apartments outside of Innovatio Alley and ensuring the residents knew the different protocols. Once the residents realized they were not getting duped or be thrown out in the event any officials tried to be aggressive towards them, and even given a list of possible jobs for them to try in both worlds, the income came right in, and based on the document he just gotten, he was sitting pretty on the equivalent of 1,945,200 pounds, excluding the taxes and other subsidies.

Innovatio Alley on the other hand, was already making him one of the richest in Britain. And that was not including any of his vaults at all.

It would be roughly two in the afternoon that Harry left Gringotts and leaving the world by Innovatio Alley, having his final treatments completed and lightly chuckling at the memory of his goblin managers telling the others about his ideas and the sight of them gaping at said managers, with a couple banging their heads and muttering why hadn't they thought of it. At least everything was finalized and all of his purchases were done. Harry stepped out of Innovatio Alley, took in a deep breath and letting it out before walking forth to the Underground, his Occlumency aiding his mind in his though processing.

It was weird now that he was one month away from officially entering the magical world. Yes, he had entered the world when he was eight years old, learned about his family and inheritance, studied up on as much local and foreign magic as he could, create and train as many original spells as he could on his own, helped out the goblins with his ideas for Magical Britain, and many others. But it still felt like a dream that magic exists or that he had actual powers inside him. There was still so much about that power, (in his mind he still refer to it as the 'Force') which amazed him for all the possibilities that could be achieved, and made him lament at all the wasted potential these people in the world had at their finger tips yet to be contented with it. There was also a small part in him, a remnant of his childhood from the the Dursleys, that was worried that this was all one big hallucination and that he was actually in the cupboard, delirious from the attack that sent the Dursleys to prison and him to the hospital. Only with the doctors and later the Healers helping him recover from the attack, then he was able to put that aside for the most part.

Now he was going to start his official education, in an academy that his parents had studied at under the control of a headmaster who has an unusual fixation on him to the point of dumping him with abusive relatives, knowingly allowing his actual guardian in prison, withholding his mail and inheritance, stealing his money, attempts to use his name to create false stories of him and propose laws that by all accounts would not be accepted by him, and now trying to legalize bills to make sure that he was there. He would not lie, he was honestly baffled and afraid at the old man trying to regain control on him. He had done all of the planning and preparations he could to give himself an advantage and ensure the old man cannot control him, but as some would point out that for all the maturity he had exhibited, he was still only a young boy, there was only so much he could do in three years even with magic by his side.

There was only one thing left to do now.

Head forth for Hogwarts.

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**Author Notes:**

Hi to all, I hope you are enjoying this story. I honestly did not expect this to be received so well, hopefully I can continue to deliver the goods.

The next chapter will be a time skip to boarding the Hogwarts Express, I don't want to stay too long on the 'preparation' stage. While I write my other stories and parts of the next chapter, what do you think Hermione should be? Friend or foe? As stated in the foreword, she won't be a love interest.

Until next time, I put my pen down for now...


	7. Book 1-06

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

* * *

**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 6

**Posted Date:** May 23 2020

**Updated Date:** June 6 2020

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It was a very busy morning at King's Cross Station on the first of September 1991 with commuters moving about trying to catch their train to their destination. It was a common scene to see people huffing and puffing as they pushed their way through the thick throngs, with the occasional scuffles that come about from people being a little rough in their movements and hitting someone by accident. There were times however the station got more packed than usual and station masters had to be there on hand to assist and redirect human traffic out of the area. This was the situation at hand even at nine fifty on the Sunday morning.

Station Master Quentin has seen it all in the 30 years he had been at the job. Drunken brawls; gang fights; the arguments of commuters for bumping into one another; couples arguing about the ticket pricing, locations and the occasional affairs; the odd child throwing a tantrum or getting lost in the crowd; the odd drag queen that would appear in the crowds (he really wished for something to erase those memories, especially of the time one of them got the clothes caught at the gantry. All of his crew were sent for a month-long therapy to deal with that sight!); even that one time when the station got locked down due to an electrical fault that saw the security gates closed, a pregnant woman went into labour and three doctors who were stuck in the station went to deliver the baby on site, giving birth to a pair of healthy twins.

There was so much one would see in this station; he even had a scrapbook that kept track of the more interesting events of the station just for fun, with photos to match if he could get it. Some of the others had followed his example for kicks, with a couple of them having signatures of people they asked for the humour. At least one boasted of having an actor signed his book.

One of the oddities Quentin had seen was during the increased traffic around end of June and the beginning of September each year, every single time without much deviance. It felt that people were just appearing out of the brickwork to go elsewhere that he was not sure of. He noted how some of the people were dressed oddly in either outdated clothes, robes and the odd dress or two, as though there was a costume party that happened every year, and carrying around trunks and pets like cats, toads and owls. And then there were the odd questions he got asked, the most common being 'Where is Platform Nine and Three Quarters?' In the beginning he was confused and annoyed at how persistent the questions were, but these days he just went with the flow and pointed at the general direction between platforms 9 and 10, thinking that it was a designated gathering spot for whatever party that went on every year and most of them were confused on the naming since it was the children who asked. They claimed it was to a magic school, so he would just play along with them and tell them to buy sandwiches for the trip.

On this day though, it felt a little more congested than usual that made Quentin very grateful for the small corner of the station that fitted his frame nicely and avoid people while maintaining line of sight. Quentin could spy a few of those people wearing those odd clothing hanging about, idly chatting with one another or reading newspapers that he would swear seemed to have pictures moving if he focused hard enough. There were even people carrying those old vintage cameras that would give off a bright flash and a lot of smoke, chatting in a manner that reminded him of reporters. While majority appeared to be the usual harmless if not eccentric sort, one group of people had caught his eye and that of his colleagues with the odd actions they were doing, prompting them to keep a closer watch on them.

The people in question had appeared at the station around 3 days ago, and while they appeared harmless, the actions and behaviour being exhibited had set off a bit of alarm among the security manning the surveillance cameras and prompted Quentin's crew to keep a closer inspection. One man and woman would walk around like a couple wanting to catch a train but did not board any of them for two hours before getting switched by another set of people. One person wearing the weirdest hat sat on the bench facing platforms nine and ten reading the same book for the morning and looking above the top a few times. And then there was the stern looking gentleman who walked around the station and subtly glancing about, always disappearing every time Quentin or any of his crew try to approach him.

All of their actions prompted the office to request for a few plain-clothes officers to mingle in the crowd and attempt an arrest on the people. It was not helped when they tried to run identification based on photos taken from the cameras, only to come up with nothing that suggested they exist. They were not taking any chances as there were already two terrorism-related incidents in February, the second involving bombs at Victoria and Paddington Stations. Quentin was really thankful that he kept writing the oddities that happened at the station; while the others would be confused of those wearing robes and odd clothing, he kept photos and descriptions on them. Combined with the surveillance cameras and photos, they would be able to identify them faster.

A tug at the end of his shirt broke his thoughts and drew his attention to a young boy who was looking up at him with dark eyes and a nervous smile. He was dressed simply with a pale button shirt and dark brown pants with a well-used jacket, and topped with a cap showcasing the logo of one of the country's football teams. He was carrying over his shoulder a small duffel bag while holding out a train ticket.

"Excuse me sir, can I trouble you with something?" The boy asked while looking a touch embarrassed.

"What can I help you with, lad?" Quentin asked with a gentle smile to assure the boy as he bent down to his level.

"I am trying to get to platform 9, the problem is I can't find it in this crowd." The boy gave a glare at the large number of people which honestly looked funny on his young face. "There are too many people around here and I can't push through." The man chuckled as he looked at the ticket, noting that the boy was cutting it close despite the sufficient timing at ten o'clock.

"The platform is right over there." Quentin pointed in the direction just as some people moved away to show the sign. "There you go, the platform. If you missed that, platform 10 is on the right side, just past the pillar over there. You can't miss that." The boy let out a sigh of relief as he took back the ticket.

"Thank you for the assistance. I am running late for my school term but I keep getting pushed around a lot in this crowd." the boy replied as he looked back. "Not helped with those people in weird clothing, is there some sort of carnival going on?"

"You tell me young man." Quentin answered with a shrug. "They always come around this month or the end of June."

"Really? That must be hard on you to see them every time." The boy tilted his head to the side. "I don't really feel comfortable around them, especially with a few of them looking at us kids."

"Oh?" Quentin maintained his smile and the tone while glancing at the group of people that had been on the man's mind a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, those men over there." The boy pointed at the same group, specifically a particular shifty looking man that many of Quentin's crew had been keeping an eye out for some time. "That guy keeps on looking at boys, and tried to grab me before saying something about me being the wrong kid. Then the other one over there" - The boy pointed a little to the side at the man with a top hat - "said something about waiting for the last minute before the train leaves to grab a kid and dropping some package. I did not stick around; they are really creepy."

For his part, Quentin was barely able to hang on to his smile as he looked at the individuals again just as the shifty looking man looked up and saw him. The man seemed to stiffen at the look in Quentin's eye before he got up and walked away, with the other man and two others following in quick succession.

"Do you know if either of them mentioned the train timing?" Quentin asked the boy in front of him.

"Erm, think it was eleven?" The boy scratched his head with a confused expression. "The man did say something about a 'Platform Nine and Three Quarters'? That sounds like an odd name for a platform." Quentin nodded in reply while mentally thinking about the oddities. That certainly explained the odd choice of clothing and behaviour. They were familiarizing themselves with the area so that they could blend with the other folks on this day, grab whoever the kid was, and make a quick getaway without hindrance.

"Sorry to ask you of this young lad, but do you think you could write down all you have heard and remembered on those people?" Quentin handed a pen and his notebook over to the boy. Looking up, he caught the eye of his partner and motioned his hand to the group who left. The partner nodded and walked in the direction where the group left with one hand on his radio. While it may be nothing, Quentin would rather not leave this to chance.

"Here is all I can remember, sir." The boy called out to him while handing over the notebook about a minute later. Quentin looked over the information while inwardly complimenting the boy's speed and memory. He was able to describe the people he met and the words they spoke of in good detail, this would certainly help him and the others a lot when they apprehend those people. Quentin decided to be a bit more proactive based on the content, but not before guiding the boy himself to the platform where he spotted parents with their own children, a couple of whom had asked about the fabled platform. The boy thanked him profusely for helping him, to which Quentin waved him goodbye before he went off to his post, grabbing his radio and adopting a serious expression.

"All officers be advised; I may have a possible lead on our targets' objectives. There is a chance they are looking for some kid and they would drop something to achieve a distraction when getting away..."

~ooOOoo~

The boy watched the station master walking away with his radio for a bit before he turned and walked to the pillar separating platforms 9 and 10, pausing to talk to the group of people who had asked about the odd platform number and showing them the placement. He then looked around them once more before stepping towards the pillar to demonstrate to the group, slipping right through without stopping and coming out at the other side, the sight of the red steam-powered train not phasing him too much as much as the folks who came after him. After he pointed out certain facts to be noted for the train and received their thanks for his help, he made his way through the small group of children and parents crowding along the platform and went to the train carriage that was closer to the end. He paused for a moment to raise his arm in time for a snow-white owl to land on it, stroke its plumage before going up the stairs. He took the time to inspect the cabins before entering and placing his duffel bag on the rack above him while the owl took point near the door. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out 2 slips of paper that had symbols on it, went to the window and held one against it until the paper slip glowed briefly. After checking it held on, he repeated the task to the door before stepping back to check his handiwork. Letting out a light hum, he reached for his cap and removed it, his overall look seeming flickered before changing its appearance.

"Whew, man that was warm." Harry gestured to himself while thinking of a cooling spell, sighing in bliss as the cool air hit him and dried him off. "Note to self, need to rework the runes for disguise. Something is causing the runes to heat up more than normal, may be due to presence of more mana in the area with all the other wizards." Harry took out a notebook and made a quick reminder with a few notations on possible workarounds. "Still, it is a good thing I came in disguise, those people are persistent." The owl let out a bark to agree with his statement. Harry paused to check his charms were still working before leaning back in his seat and letting his mind wander.

It had been an interesting month for Harry, in which he needed to register the magic school without losing any of his future scholarships or connections to the high schools or universities. There was a fair amount of quick talking to explain why he was not going to other known high-schools or take the university offer, but once his teachers understood that his name was in the list by his parents, they were fine with it. They were a little worried when he told them about the possibility of the man who had arranged his stay with the Dursleys being one of the faculty of that school, but were assured with his solicitor on the case and the fact that the adult Dursleys were already in jail while Dudley was spending time in the juvenile centre, not to mention his placement having been secured in the courtrooms once they were alerted to the irregularities of his custody. All of them would be alerted in some manner should any irregularities occur.

There was also the small hassle of making sure his properties, heirlooms and finances were secured. The last of the properties belonging to his family or passed down to him was refurbished or broken down to sell the profits. He now had proper facilities that could serve as homes during summer vacations and as safe-houses since most people forgot about them and they had been warded with anti-location spells to confuse the remainder. His birthday had passed with a letter from his account manager telling Harry that the false key has been recovered along with most of the missing heirlooms, and as part of the precautions, his old trust vault has been closed for good with the contents moved to a new vault for his education, with it being blood-locked and the withdrawal method being a new concept in the form of a credit card based from modern banking methods. With that there was no way for Dumbledore to get his money (it was not stated outright, just 'an old man with a long white beard and questionable fashion sense', but it was quite obvious), especially when the goblins hit him hard in the vaults to pay for damages to his own. Harry did arrange with the goblins that they prepared tests in the event he acted out of the ordinary to ensure he was not enthralled by the old wizard, as it had apparently happened before with other clients and they did not have proof.

His businesses and investments in both sides of Britain were going great; Innovatio's stores have been raking in the Galleons and providing much needed employment to those cast aside for those pure-bloods despite having better qualifications. It got to the point that the goblins had reclaimed the old slums that used to house those left behind in Magical Britain, along with more parts of Knockturn Alley, broken them down to the foundations and rebuilt them into new stores for others to build their businesses on. Outside of Innovatio Alley, more apartment buildings were built to house the new tenants along with new businesses staffed with squibs, new-bloods, half-bloods, werewolves and the occasional vampires. All of the buildings had been warded in an opposite manner to those found in magical buildings; while the Ministry and Diagon Alley were warded to hide themselves from Muggles, Harry's businesses and apartments were designed to prevent anyone without proper clearance and with magic levels higher than a squib from gaining entry, thus ensuring not one of those bigots would try to illegally evict them out or to plant false evidence. Combined that with other magical means, modern security methods like cameras, and good old common sense, meant his buildings along with Innovatio Alley were considered as some of the most secured areas in Britain. This was a good thing as there was some chatter on the gossip vine whereby the store owners from Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley were complaining on the decreasing number of patrons, along with the loss of property from the latter. Some of the bigots were getting some notion of the alley's existence but for now they were not bothering with it, believing it was just the usual groups that wanted new-bloods and half-bloods to buy their wares.

It may get to the point Harry would have to reveal his identity on that part, something he hoped to avoid for at least another year to accumulate the much-needed grip on the economy for his part. Innovatio Alley was something that he heard Jeremiah call his 'brainchild', an idea that honestly helped to bridge the gaps between the British Wizarding World and the modern world. He was not sure how it was done overseas even with reports provided by the goblins, but he would not lose that to some bigots who can't see past their damn prejudice!

The highlight of course would have to be reports on how Dumbledore had attempted to draft bills for the first two weeks that on the surface were meant to 'benefit the society' by getting heirs of certain lineages to stay and learn at Hogwarts, or to 'ease the minds of heirs' by increasing the age of inheritance on the understanding they would have more time to learn, but honestly were created to ensure that Harry would be under his thumb and unable to take up his heir-ship until the supposed age of majority. It would appear that despite the more than reasonable requests regarding education from him, first generation wizards / witches and half-bloods, and the warning from Filius Flitwick, the old wizard seemed to resist any changes to his perceived stronghold and decided to continue his attempts to find and control Harry.

His latest and last attempt of the month was perhaps his most ambitious, targeting all male heirs to attend Hogwarts with the addendum of said heirs to be placed under his 'supervision' while they were at Hogwarts. But at that point, his solicitor, a muggle-raised half-blood named Jeremiah Gottwald, had entered the arena and threw down the gauntlet, using old examples of said bills and by-laws to show that they were not workable, with a healthy use of terms such as 'tax increase' or 'monetary inflation' that would make the politicians with tight purses wary of approving the bills. He used other examples and played the 'heir' card, pointing out that those of certain families would find themselves disinherited by mistake, and for those considered the last of their families, that would mean the complete extinction of a family line. That got the pure-bloods in the council up in arms, the very notion of their lines declared extinct because of a technicality was too much for them to contemplate. Especially with said addendum that had a possible loophole that would make Dumbledore the closest to being 'sole heir' to said fortunes without being blood-related, that could mean that the child in question could be expelled or suffer an 'accident' that no one would know of and he would gain everything without people realizing, something that really riled up his opponents.

That was also when the report on the education standards came into play that got one Madam Marchbanks and her staff demanding answers for why the education standards at Hogwarts had dropped so severely without notifying her department. Many of the members in session were also demanding answers of their own as their own children were either studying, graduating or about to start their education at the academy, and they had believed that much of their complaints were exaggerated until the report came into play. Needless to point out, Dumbledore's attempts at the bills were subsequently scrapped and forgotten out of fears of losing money and family lines in favour of understanding the issues of the education standards at a new session 2 days later.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore decided to use that next session to reveal that Harry has 'ran away from his ever-loving relatives' and that he must be 'returned under his guardianship to better guide him'. Harry had to give him props for being extremely stubborn at getting him, despite the eye-rolling words that made him very annoyed. It was also a good thing that he made those plans with his solicitor in the event he did this, because he really did not need this on his plate.

Jeremiah was a man on a mission in that session, making sure that Dumbledore could not get his hands on his client and airing as much dirty laundry as he could on his mis-handling of Harry's guardianship and his supposed affairs. He also let it known that Harry had not been in his illegally gained guardianship for the past couple of years, thus showing that the old man had been using Harry's name to push for bills and notices, not to mention making claims without his consent. Combined that with the records provided by Sharpclaw on his health and bank records, his lack of initiative to teach Harry on his duties to protect his house, his latest attempts to draft bills of questionable faith, along with the restraining order that was still active after the debacle with Dumbledore on the newspaper, and other bits of information that showed his sticky fingers all over it, Dumbledore was practically drowning in boiling hot water and effectively made a big target for plenty to air their grievance to.

And it was as people were demanding for his neck that Jeremiah released the bit on how Filius Flitwick and one Minerva McGonagall were actively trying to get Harry interested in Hogwarts and improve the standards for future students based on the given report against the odds presented to them, and wrapping it up by making it sound that Albus was resisting or undoing all of their good work and effectively alienating Harry in an attempt to 'bring him to heel without permission', and at the same time trying to downplay if not ignore the report regarding the dropping standards. That certainly was interesting to hear the report, although Harry would do his best to ignore the blood-thirstiness Jeremiah displayed while relaying the report, or the dark chuckles of his account manager.

In the end, Dumbledore would have his guardianship rights removed over all the students in Hogwarts, having to pay fines for damages to Harry and others, and was now getting another review on his positions as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwamp. From what he heard, the latter was likely to be the first to go as he was new to the position and the members of the ICW were not as enthralled with his supposed fame as those of Britain, and do not appreciate people with integrity issues and sticky fingers in matters not concerned with him. The position of Chief Warlock of Wizengamot could go either way as while there were advantages to having him gone, the possibilities of someone worse were arguably more. There was also the issue of his supporters ensuring his position could be secured; despite all the evidence, it would appear many still believed Dumbledore to be capable of vomiting rainbows and had the sun shining from his behind. They were going to need hard facts to remove their rose-tinted glasses.

His post as Headmaster of Hogwarts would likely be the hardest to push him out in their opinion as he was really insistent on keeping that role; the manner in which he 'wishes to shape the minds of future students' made that clear along with his supporters helping him maintain that post. And with the likelihood of Harry coming to Hogwarts, there was no way the old wizard would let it go without a fight so that he could use the chance to get closer to him. That did not mean it was impossible, with the report on education standards dropping and a stack of complaints for the past couple of decades given to the department of education, and copies sent to the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler, a team of inspectors was organized to give Hogwarts a long overdue check on both their teaching standards and the teachers themselves. Dumbledore supposedly tried to belay that action, stating that all of this was an over-exaggeration, but the people were demanding answers, and from what Harry's contacts told him, the Minister was both in fear of his popularity ratings and bolstered by Dumbledore's errors, and pretty much stated in front of reporters that Hogwarts was going to get the inspection one way of another. It was slated roughly around October based on Jeremiah's report, so Harry just needed to watch himself for a month or so.

Regarding his restraining order and in light of Harry possibly coming to Hogwarts, it had been reinforced with some conditions that Harry was not to be alone with the old wizard at all and it could only be related to education matters without him abusing his power. Harry got the feeling that restraining order would be violated within the first week alone, to the point that he had made a bet with the goblins and Jeremiah. The goblins bet on 2 days within entering Hogwarts in his haste to get Harry, Jeremiah was generous enough to bet on 2 weeks before the old wizard tried something in order to lower Harry's guard.

... It was mildly disturbing that they were betting on the actions of a man with a fixation on a boy.

There were of course a few downsides to the situation; there was the fact that much of his personal information was out in the open. The bit about the Dursleys being in prison for something they did to him was announced and while censored, it was still there as part of the reason Dumbledore could not hold on to the guardianship or others now. Harry knew that it was not his own fault, but a part of him still dislike the bit that people knew that had happened to him. It was small mercy for him that the person who reported it was not Rita Skeeter; what little he gathered about her, she was one of the more persistent reporters along the lines of paparazzi with a particularly sadistic edge to her writing and a rather frightening ability to motivate her readers into shaming her targets. Her piece on Dumbledore a couple of years back was quite explosive to say the least, considering she only have a nugget of truth and spiced the article up with lots of conjecture.

Harry could only thank his stars that part of his inheritance involved shares with the Daily Prophet, coupled with his own investments, thus giving him some power to veto articles that could prove detrimental in the years attending Hogwarts. It was also thanks to those shares and the use of an alias from one of the lesser known family lines to bring the newspaper company to heel, removing those that had been altering stories to line their pockets with gold and instating rules to enforce the truth. He was still trying to figure out how she could hang on to her post all this time or the manner she gathered her facts, but as she was currently toeing the line of maintaining the truth without her previous boss protecting her for profits, he would just have to keep an eye out himself. If needed, he would buy out the entire company and rebuilt the newspaper from the ground up.

There was also the bit that Jeremiah was under the employment of 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' to handle legal affairs, and that Harry was under new guardianship that made people want to know whom it was, especially the old man who was now trying to use laws to get the identity. Due to a law passed on the sly a few years ago, adoptions could only be done if the family in question was of a certain lineage and age, regardless of whether the family in question was good for the child. Harry's adoption was done by a man referred to as Lord Thornwood, someone who had successfully resurrected the Noble and Ancient House of Thornwood out of dormancy, and someone whom everyone was trying to find more information on since no one knew that the house was brought back to Britain. Thankfully a person with sense by the name of Amelia Bones had stopped and pretty much shut Dumbledore and others up on their attempts to do so. With the restraining order on Dumbledore, he could not search for the identity himself or use his supporters and ministry contacts to do it for him. For others, a firm warning and fine of a few hundred Galleons were given to dissuade them, not that Harry or Jeremiah expected them to hold. It may be time to bring in Lord Thornwood in the event Jeremiah could not support him in the matter if they insist, while ensuring the other 'guardian' in charge of his custody was kept under secrecy on the off-chance his primary guardian and Jeremiah 'suffer an unusual accident', and then there was the last backup plan for the truly worst-case scenario, the thing that his solicitor and goblin allies had managed to obtain at the last week before the start of term.

The next issue was perhaps not as detrimental to Harry as it was to others whom Dumbledore had claimed guardianship. It was around the time that they had discovered that Dumbledore had used some of the money from his vault and other neglected vaults to pay off other families under the guise of scholarships, Harry had discussed very thoroughly with Jeremiah and the goblins on the legality of taking up the guardianship without proper consent or protocols. Aside from Harry, Dumbledore would also have __'in loco parentis'__ over the new-bloods, half-bloods raised outside or orphans, and the odd pure-blood during the school terms as part of his rights. (Not that he was much of a guardian considering the stories of them getting harassed over blood status or attacked for something as petty as a school yard argument.) The solicitor had gone through the Hogwarts Charter and obscure laws with a fine comb along with the goblins and determined the possibility of all of his guardianship rights removed to be high as the parents would likely reason that he could inflict the same issues on their children as Harry. The problem was that without that protection, those previously named would be sitting ducks for a lot of people who could whisk them away without anyone throwing a fuss or force a marriage contract to gain blood or fortunes. As a precaution and as a nod to his mother, the goblins helped to set up the Lily Evans Foundation to aid those students with sponsorship of certain families to ensure that they were protected in more ways than one. It was not perfect, but it sidestepped the issue and the students were certainly protected under more clauses than Dumbledore's previous protection. Unless there was a case where the sponsored party did something illegal or failed to meet the terms in the standard contract provided, they would be protected under the aegis of several known families, a couple of which were his own family houses not well known to others.

There were other issues that came out of this like some politicians trying to use the situation to bring other students into Hogwarts as a means of forcing those who were not pure-blood to pay more to make up for the diminishing funds for the school, other people trying to get Harry into the school with a lot of restrictions, or the Minister trying to get some woman into Hogwarts to act as a High-Inquisitor. Harry was not sure if the name was true, a Dolores Umbitch? Considering the rather gleeful glint in Jeremiah's and the goblins' eyes, it may be the case?

And then there was the issue of unwanted intrusions to his town for the remaining part of the month. Harry could not recall the last time he had this many intruders trying to penetrate the barrier he erected before, but it was getting annoying and dangerous once they started trying to compel others into entering the town and supposedly grabbing him. Harry had to rework his old ward system to ensure no compulsions to be allowed in his area, and was appalled at how many had been in the area. Thankfully whatever had appeared were on people he did not interact that much and the wards had cancelled them out in the past, but this was getting very troublesome to say the least especially with the noted appearance of a curse breaker in the area who got arrested based on an anonymous tip-off by Jeremiah. And then there were the spies at the station and the Floo Fireplace at the platform for the 3 days before the actual day of arrival that made him so glad that he had developed the disguise Runes on his cap to allow him to walk past them without getting caught.

There were so many issues to deal with, and he was only eleven for crying out loud! Why in the Ten Hells and Seven Heavens must he be dealing with this mess?!

Glancing at his watch, Harry found that he still had a good fifty-five minutes before the train would leave the station. He had lost part of his motivation to continue on with his notes with all the thoughts in his head, he might as well walk about the train and the platform to get some ideas for any new projects, or anything to distract his mind.

Once he grabbed his cap and assured that his owl named Hedwig was safe, Harry proceeded to walk about the train, taking note of the different carriages like that of the prefects, the engine room, and other bits that most would not bother paying attention. He did however pay close attention to those students who had arrived before him and had changed into their school robes, noting the different houses and the manner they interacted. While he had seen the interactions from the denizens at Diagon Alley, he wanted to see how the children and teens would interact without the parents around if they would differ from them. So far, what he saw validated what he read from John Doe's journal (he decided to coin that name to the mystery author of his favourite journal until he got more information on him), and it was really clear to Harry that the house system Hogwarts has adopted was likely one of the bigger reasons for the messed up system in Magical Britain.

Harry sighed as he walked out of the carriage to take a moment to consider his options. Quite honestly, a part of him was still considering if he should just take a step out of the platform and head back to Gringotts to apply for a different identity and a new school. It felt that he barely scratched the surface of the issues in Britain, and it was getting very unnerving at how these people managed to get on with their lives with all the crap going on. It was either the sheep following 'The Leader of The Light', or the followers of a Dark Lord performing genocide. The few neutral parties were getting gutted by the two sides for not picking a side.

He had his work cut out for him all right. One of the reasons he could not get out of Hogwarts yet was due to his parents entering his name sometime after his birth so he was automatically going to the academy. He could however go to another academy provided he studied at Hogwarts for at least a year and he did ensure one of his conditions to Flitwick was him doing a test year to see if Hogwarts was living up to the standards, along with private permission to learn the magic of other countries and the option of taking his OWL exams early. It was risky as it meant other elements could prevent him from doing so, but he had allies to help him out if required, and if he could invoke the plans to fix the country in the process, it may be worth doing so.

With a sigh, Harry looked at his watch again before turning back to the carriage and going up the stairs, pausing to put up a notice charmed to direct those who had visited Innovatio to the carriage to prevent issues like the silly blood prejudice, along with charms to filter out bad will. With his disguise and back turned, he was lucky enough to avoid a few people who were on the lookout for him.

Seriously, does that old man have that much free time to himself to send people to find and kidnap him?!

~ooOOoo~

The first hour of the trip was somewhat okay. It did start a little messy when several adults were being rowdy and pushing people and end up getting arrested for their troubles by a few Aurors on hand for disturbance. While the other students and some of the parents were confused by their actions, their intentions were blaring through Harry's Force Senses as they were being cuffed roughly and sent to the DMLE cells for processing. It would appear that aside from Dumbledore, there were a couple of others from the supposed Dark Faction wanting to snag him of sorts, and they clashed with his people from both sides of the platform. It was a good thing that Jeremiah had talked with Amelia Bones regarding security and got the Aurors there to supervise, although there was the possibility of them learning of the ones outside of the platform. He could feel at least three outside getting arrested by the regular police and could have sworn he heard some woman screaming her lungs out in frustration.

There was also the oddity of two red-head twins walking about asking if they had seen their younger brother who was supposed to be joining them for the year. From what little he gathered, their family arrived late to the platform and the elder siblings were the only ones who got on the train on time. Their parents were supposed to come soon after with their brother named Ron, but they missed the train for some odd reason their mother had by going to the station the muggle route as opposed to the usual Floo method.

Well, it was not his problem that people arrived late in a station known for its large crowd on weekends.

His carriage was filled considerably quickly, and Harry had to help two future students get their trunks up the stairs until he pointed out that their trunks, which came from one of the new stores of Innovatio Alley, had features that allowed them to make them weightless or shrink them for a short while. That certainly helped the rest that came after the two as they immediately put the system to use and now had them neatly on the rungs. It also helped to have the charms set in place to deter the blood bigots; Harry was nursing a light headache from the number of times the older students wanted to breech the carriage and thus far it was just making them believe that no one was there for them to harass.

It was around the first-hour mark after leaving the station that he got his first set of occupants. He was working out some formulas for his latest project and dealing with his remaining homework from one of the high-schools when the door opened to reveal a pair of twins of Indian descent. As he was still concentrating on translating symbols to get his project working, he accidentally switched to Tamil when addressing them with his common alias "Harry Evans", surprising the two girls and they ended up sticking around for a while to talk. Harry took the time to take a break and chat with them while mentally noting his future classmates.

Physically the Patil Twins were alike right down to the hair braids, but their personalities were wide apart. Padma was a very intelligent girl with a gentle personality and a curiosity to all things around her who preferred soft colours and a nice book to read, and she did not have any issues with muggles, which made explaining to her on muggle education a very interesting conversation when she saw the textbooks along with the symbols he was drawing out for his project. Parvati on the other hand had a more outgoing personality to go with her brighter set of clothes and the same intelligence, with a touch of forwardness that some would likely consider a little rude. Unlike her sister, her attention was more on fashion and stuff that would catch her eye, and much to Harry's slight guilt, he provided a magazine showcasing Innovatio's latest trends to let her read so that he could get some peace and quiet.

The shrieking he got in payment was painful to his ears but thankfully brief.

After that it was a quiet and relaxed atmosphere in the cabin as the trio did whatever they want in the cabin, with Harry providing some commentary regarding their queries. Padma was clearly quite interested in the paper seals and his symbology, having recognized certain symbols that pertained to her home country's culture. Paravati was definitely intrigued with how much Innovatio Stores have to offer on the latest trends and how they borrowed ideas from modern Britain to get their products. It was as Harry was telling them about some of the stores' wares that he got his second set of visitors.

"Sorry to interrupt, but has anyone seen a toad?" The straw-colour haired boy asked with a stammer as he knocked on the door and opened it, with the girl with very bushy hair standing next to him looking in with curiosity. Both of them were already dressed in their school robes considering they still had another five odd hours to travel. He should consider changing into his robes himself to avoid the rush hour crowd.

"Nope, haven't seen a toad anywhere here." Harry answered gently while looking at the boy. "You could go up to the prefects that are nearer to the engine cart for assistance, or if you want, I can help with that. What is your toad's name?"

"Trevor." The boy answered nervously. Harry placed his items down before flicking his wrist, releasing the wand holstered there before bringing it up. He could do this without the wand but he figured he should try to maintain some bit of anonymity when in Hogwarts. He will have to downplay a fair bit of his skills just in case.

"Accio Trevor the Toad." Harry made the incantation and the sound of a startled croak alerted the two at the door to turn only for the boy to raise his hand and catch the flying toad at the last second.

"Trevor!" The boy cheered as he lightly gripped the toad while the bushy-haired girl took a step back to give him space and to be away from the toad. "Don't do that again!"

"I do not recall that spell from the books given." his companion remarked with a slightly bossy tone that got the twins frowning lightly. "Is that a proper spell?"

"It is a spell normally meant around the fourth year, but it can be taught easily with some practice. Very useful if you want to grab something without getting up." Harry answered before looking to the boy. "Does your pet keep escaping per chance?" Harry asked looking at the toad in question, noting the rather dry skin it had.

"He does. It is always the case each time we leave the house." The boy groaned while the toad croaked in protest.

"I think it might be due to the lack of moisture that is making your friend seek other spots. The Scottish weather does not do wonders for its skin. Do you have a terrarium for him?" He asked only to get a blank expression from the boy and the twins while the bushy-haired girl nodded. "A habitat tank for toads."

"Oh, I tend to leave him around the pond in the greenhouse back home." The boy answered. "I did not see the point to have this 'terrarium' so close to me."

"Well then, we got to get you one to stop Trevor here from leaving all the time. In fact." Harry stood up to grab the duffel bag and pull open the zip to reveal his books and notebooks, and reached into one of the side pouches for a shrunken trunk. Placing it on the ground, he applied a bit of magic to make it grow back to normal size, showing its form as a four-drawer modern-cabinet style trunk slim enough to fit between the seats. Opening up the lowest drawer, he stepped in and made his way down the ladder steps provided, smiling at the surprised yelp given off by the girls. Reaching the bottom of the magically enlarged space, he went to one of the shelves nearest to him and began grabbing a clear box with a handle on top of it along with a jar of dirt and some swamp plants, before making his way back up the steps where the others were waiting and watching him do so with wide eyes and open mouths.

Hey, he may want to downplay his abilities, that did not mean he could not go about promoting items from Innovatio Alley to get more business for them, and in turn more cash for him.

"Here we go. Let me go and etch some Runes on this so that Trevor would be happy in it." Harry announced as he climbed out of the drawer, pausing at the sight of the bushy-haired girl practically vibrating with curiosity. "Do you wish to look at this, Miss?"

"Hermione Granger, and yes I really want to see it!" The girl clamped her hands on her mouth in silent mortification while blushing hard. Harry merely chuckled and waved a hand to the trunk while stepping aside, allowing her to come closer to look at the trunk in question, with Padma doing the same with great interest. Harry took the time to quickly draw and etch some Runes on the box while asking the boy (whom he managed to get the name from as one Neville Longbottom after closing the door and staying in the cabin) what was the typical habitat of the toad.

"Why do you have a box ready for such a thing?" Parvati asked while lightly snickering at the two girls walking inside the drawer and cheering at the enlarged space.

"I like to tinker with items for different ideas." Harry answered as he finished the runes and began layering the small patch of wet dirt and plants in the box. "While I like to read and study, I learn more through my hands. That trunk you see there" - He pointed at the object in question with his small etching tool - "is meant to hold random junk and small items so I could experiment with some ideas that pop into my head. I have another for my own belongings." Harry continued with his work and before long, Trevor the Toad was enjoying his new home complete with water and plants, and getting a nice wet sheen on its skin.

"Thank you very much!" Neville thanked Harry while looking at the Terrarium with wonder.

"No problem, Mister Longbottom." Harry waved his thanks as he cleaned up while looking to Hermione and Padma examining each part of the trunk with an eye glued on the runes, Parvati looking on in amusement. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"It is bigger on the inside!" Hermione said the words that every Doctor Who fan would recognize at all times. "I did not know trunks like these were sold!"

"Most starting Hogwarts won't be given these types of trunks until a certain age, even then it is restricted to certain circles." Harry answered as he shrunk the trunk. "If you are rich enough, you might get trunks with expanding charms, but they would only allow you to store items as opposed to being a room sized attachment based on your age and work. Thankfully Innovatio Alley has a store to allow these as standard wares within reason."

"Innovatio Alley? I remembered that name given by the goblins at the bank." Hermione tapped her finger to her chin as she thought back to her visit. "I only got a chance to visit the alley briefly, but it looks so modern compared to Diagon Alley, not to mention more friendly of sorts?"

"You are a first-generation witch if I am not mistaken?" Harry continued upon confirmation. "Innovatio Alley is a relatively new alley that has been built for the patronage of first-generation new bloods and half-bloods. The store owners there are entrepreneurs and innovators with plenty of ideas to go with modern Britain, some of which is considered too progressive by those of Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley. The guy who made these was a Doctor Who fan and he was chomping at the bit to try his hand at these."

"You know a lot of the stores and the history." Parvati raised the magazine he had handed to her earlier. "Sounds like you are a major patron yourself."

"That, and the fact that I am one of the few helping to field test their products." Harry answered as he reached into the bag again and took out two books. "The trunk that you just examined was one of the few I helped to put through their paces to get them up and running. Here you go, something to get yourself familiarized." In a blink of an eye, the books disappeared from his hands and into Hermione's and Padma's. Harry blinked owlishly while Parvati let out a laugh at his expression.

"When it comes to books, my sister can be very curious." She teased Padma who had a blush on her cheeks while looking at the book in her hand. Harry nodded while looking at Hermione who had a very intense expression as she read. Something about her name and appearance triggered a memory that he wanted to check up on.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger." Harry called out to her who looked up from the book "This might sound like an odd question. Were you per chance at a spelling contest a couple of years back?"

"Yes, I was. I had attended the contest in London with a few others." Hermione leaned forward while narrowing her eyes at Harry in concentration, and that was when Harry was glad that Neville had closed the doors which allowed the charms to reapply the silencing wards as her eyes widened and she smiled. "Ah now I remember you, I thought you looked familiar. You were the one who got first place in the school from Surrey. Harry Potter!" She paused before her expression changed to shock. "Wait, that means you are also the same Harry Potter that got away from those horrible relatives and survived Voldemort?!"

That definitely got the attention of the others as they turned their heads as one to him with wide eyes while shuddering from the name. Well that, and one shared smile on the twins' faces. "Thought so." The two of them said almost at the same time.

"You knew?" Harry sighed as he made sure that the seals were still holding.

"This year is the one that most people have been looking forward to, your arrival to Magical Britain." Parvati started to talk as Hermione was directed to a seat. "Everyone knows your story, or at least what is passed as your story. That article on you a couple of years ago and this past month tells everyone that much of it is likely fake especially when the news has gone around on your solicitor suing the authors for writing stories without paying loyalties and without permission."

"There is the bit of your seals that is meant to deter all those with ill intent." Padma pointed to the paper seals in question. "That points to knowledge available to pure-bloods or at least a half-blood. Not to mention the style suggests that you want privacy and protection."

"The name you introduced yourself to us, Harry Evans." Parvati took over. "While majority of the British Pure-Bloods would gloss over your parents, your mother, Lily Potter nee Evans, was well known outside Britain as one of the few muggle-borns acing the NEWTS exams and gaining a Mastery for Charms. So, when you introduced yourself as Harry Evans, we got the idea that you might be using an alias instead."

"But perhaps the bigger indicator would be when the people were moving about earlier." Padma mentioned with a slightly sympathetic wince. "The few times someone mentioned Harry Potter, your hand kept twitching, supposedly for your wand." Harry sighed as he scratched the back of his head, one of a few minor habits he had when frustrated or nervous. He should be glad that the twins were honest enough to tell him about these and that they did not care about his supposed fame.

"I see, thank you for that bit of information and for not going gaga over me." Harry answered them. "I really hate my fame."

"To be fair, we were not sure about you in the beginning." Parvati remarked as she leaned back. "After all, you were supposedly 'safe' at your relatives' place. That is definitely not the case based on the articles from your solicitor if I am not mistaken. There is also the physical description given out in those books about you being a thin copy of your father with your mother's eyes. From where I am sitting, you have of your father's features and your mother's eyes, but you have black hair with tints of red with no glasses and a strong frame as opposed to the supposed thin frame. And your attitude and personality are certainly a far cry from a typical Gryffindor stereotype." She gave a smile which sent a bit of a shiver down Harry's spine, he was not sure why but somehow, he knew that was a smile that should not belong to an eleven-year-old girl, yet he also felt a touched flattered for some reason. "Personally, I prefer this version of you than the ones from those books. Don't you agree, dear sister?" Padma blushed from the question directed at her, then went further red when she looked at Harry in the eye briefly before looking down at her feet. Harry coughed to hide the fact he was blushing himself and to clear the awkward air.

"Honestly, it is a good thing I don't resemble anything from the story books." Harry remarked. "I do not like the books just throwing that out for everyone to read on the off-chance to find me. I mean, the reason I am getting my solicitor to sue those authors and find the one spreading the news is because it is inviting trouble."

"Trouble?" Parvati asked.

"I do not know whether it was Dumbledore or someone else, but by giving a supposed description of myself and supposed feats on Halloween, that paints a target on my back, and encourages others to come after me." Padma and Neville nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

"Miss Granger?" Hermione turned to Harry. "Just so you understand, I would like to keep my identity a secret, at least until the sorting."

"But won't that be silly of you to do so?" The girl asked with a tone that again made the twins bristle slightly. "I mean you are well known in the 'Modern Magical History', 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'. Why do you waste your time on that?" Harry was partially thankful for the mind arts because as it was, something about Miss Granger's words and tone was starting to grate on his patience. Something that got removed totally from the twins judging by their expressions.

"Miss Granger, it is his right to do so." Padma spoke out with a notable frown. "Maybe to you it is silly, but if he wants to have some peace and quiet from the people going after his fame or fortune, then he should at least have it while he can."

"You are being very rude for someone who just met him." Parvati was growling at this point. Harry decided to intervene before things got too hairy and his seals mistook their intentions.

"Miss Granger, I understand you may have gotten some notion of my history and perhaps think that it may be useless of me to hide, but please do not believe everything that's written in books about me for the past few years, especially not the books written by a Romano Lockhart. They are completely to the point they should be classified as fiction, which my solicitor is already dealing with. And from what I have read in 'Modern Magical History', the author and his sources are merely speculating what had happened that night, the only facts they had right in there are that Voldemort came to our house at Halloween in 1981, killed my parents but couldn't kill me for some reason which I think is more due to my mother." Harry said.

"But … " Hermione started only for Harry to raise a hand to stop her.

"Please listen, Miss Granger. Nobody knows what really happened that night, the only witnesses who could tell you are Voldemort, my parents and myself. I was just fifteen months old and only remember a little bit and I was never interviewed until three years ago when I first entered Diagon Alley, and even then, as stated I don't believe it was a power I had, I rather think my mother did something to protect me. Perhaps I'm wrong, but there have been here-say spread by that Dumbledore that my mother's sacrifice activated ancient magic that saved me if his guess is right. The problem with his statement is considering how people claimed he was my guardian when I have never met him in my life, and he is the only one pushing that idea, I do not believe his conceived idea is the right one. As someone raised in the modern world, you know very well that books are only one of many sources of probable information as long as things haven't been proven. Take the Standard Book of Spells as an example, the spells inside are certainly true as they had to be tested over and over to prove the performance of the spell. Compare that to something like 'History of Magic', a book written by a renowned historian who would likely have the majority of the facts correct if not for the issue that with so few historians and publishers in Britain, it is hard to properly get the correct facts if the documents around the period were written in the perspective of those who were on the winning side. You might be familiar with the saying by Winston Churchill, 'History is written by the victors."

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn all you can and be the best you can be. I'd be a total hypocrite if I told you otherwise with all the projects and homework I am doing. But remember to take everything with a grain of salt and get your information straight and more importantly complete with as little bias as possible. And think about it, you said you read everything about me, but does that mean you know me? No, it only means you know about me to a certain extent. If you really want to know people you have to talk to them and get to know them, and make sure you at least respect them." Harry patiently explained.

During that speech, the other four children looked at him in surprise and slight befuddlement. Harry sighed inwardly at their expressions; it was honestly a little problematic for him to act a little more mature than those around him. It could not be helped to some extent; growing up with Dudley made it hard to make friends, then when he stopped holding back on his intelligence, he shot past his classmates in an attempt to learn everything he could to get away from the Dursleys and later Dumbledore. The only interaction he had were those older than him and then not of the same species, it was hard to connect with those of his age group since most were more childish or not caring about their futures. This was his first chance trying to get friends, and he screwed up of sorts.

Bummer.

"I..." Hermione paused before taking a deep breath to continue. "You are correct, Potter. I am wrong with my assumptions, I guess I went ahead without thinking. I am sorry."

"As long as you understand and respect my decision, that is fine." Harry gave a light smile. "The first step is always to realize a mistake to be able to change something. Use that to make sure you don't do it again." She nodded before she got up and left the cabin to think things through.

"Why the long lecture?" Neville finally spoke out since the conversation. "It did seem a bit much."

"From what little I know of her from the contest when I was younger, and what I have inferred from her attitude, she is the type who would likely follow the rules to the letter and looked to people with authority without bothering to ask much questions." Harry answered as he sat back after ensuring the door was closed and seals were in place. "She needs to remember that nothing is absolute and blindly following someone or relying on books without researching would lead her into trouble down the road. Being an outsider in school is not fun and with her being a first-gen witch, she would be in a tighter spot. It is harsh, but I hope what I said can motivate her to the right direction." The girls nodded while Neville looked at Trevor thoughtfully as he considered his words.

"Right! All that moodiness must go away!" Parvati declared with her hands on her hips. "Let's discuss something else, like which House we are likely to go!" Harry had to snort lightly at her action. Clearly, she would be the life of the party in the future.

"If I were to speculate, you would likely go to Gryffindor or Hufflepuff." Harry gave his opinion to the girl. "You are a very lively girl who wants to make friends of sorts, and you are definitely someone who goes forth without much fear, so these two houses should be the case." The girl nodded at his opinion as he turned to her sister. "You are most certainly a Ravenclaw considering your passion for knowledge, with a side of Hufflepuff. It suits you." Padma gave a smile in return.

"For me, I am just lucky to be going to Hogwarts." Neville looked down in shame. "My family did not believe I have any magic until the letter came, they kept trying to get it out and failed until I got dropped out of the window. They were wondering if I was a Squib and should be left out to not disgrace the family." Harry lightly clenched his jaw at those words, it always bothered him how families would just throw Squibs out just because they could not access their magic. They don't bother with other areas they could help with like Potions and Ancient Runes, practical work that could be done without magic.

"The way I see it Mister Longbottom, your family does not see the potential that is inside you." Harry spoke with a stern tone that got their attention, particularly Neville's as he had intended. "I do not mean disrespect, but the fact they constantly looked down on you for not recognizing your brand of magic and forcing it out in such a manner proves their ignorance and arrogance."

You will be like Parvati, either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff." Harry smiled gently to ease the tension. "You are not sure that you can be a proper wizard, yet you are willing to brave the uncertainty by stepping on this train. The important thing you need to consider, be yourself. Do not let those people decide on your behalf." He raised his arms wide to indicate himself. "Look at me, I am not like the books describe, and I refuse to let that be my standards. If people do not like me because I did not do any of the silly things described in those books, they can kick themselves in the butt when I prove them wrong." The twins looked at Neville and nodded in agreement to encourage him. That certainly did a trick as Neville slowly smiled in return with suspiciously misty eyes.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mister Longbottom." Harry replied only to get Neville shaking his head.

"You can call me Neville. At least... If you want?" The boy asked nervously. Harry blinked before nodding and smiling.

"Only if you can call me Harry." With that and the girls giving their permissions, they settled down to a nice conversation until they had to change into their robes.

~ooOOoo~

"Well, this is quite quaint." Harry remarked as he stepped off the carriage and made his way to the group of children gathering on the platform. It was roughly ten minutes past 7pm when the train arrived at the station of Hogsmeade, a small-town magical village that served as the final stop for the express train and was the only true magical village left in Britain. It was described by some of tenants of Innovatio Alley as a picturesque little place that had those old town style cottages and shops, a place that unlike Diagon Alley, looked appropriate with the whole 'time has stopped' look. From what little Harry could see on the platform, it reminded him of the old Victorian villages with early hints of industrialization. The forest surrounding the area completed the image shown to him, and he would honestly say that this was a look that suited a place of magic, and whatever plans he could come up with the area must come with the provision to avoid changing the exterior too much if not at all.

Harry went to join the crowd of first-year's gathering around what appeared to be an actual giant holding up a lantern, because there was no way a human could be that big, even bigger than the current record holder Robert Wadlow. The man looked like he belonged to the forest with the extremely shaggy hair and thick beard, wearing a dark fur coat that looked like a bear had decided to make the giant give it a piggy-back ride. He smelled of the earth, trees and wild animals but gave off the air of one who was a gentle person who would be slow to anger but disastrous to deal with if that anger erupted.

Based on the descriptions and reports granted to him, this was likely Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Groundskeeper of Hogwarts.

"Come along now First Years! All of you gather around now!" The huge man called out to them in a very deep and thickly accented West Country tone slurring his words, with the lantern held higher in the air for him to check on them, his eyes roaming about as he looked at them with a gentle smile. Harry lowered his head lightly as the man looked at him briefly before continuing. Harry knew that the man while a gentle soul who would not harm people needlessly, was also fiercely loyal to the headmaster of Hogwarts. There was also the bit where the goblins had told him of the half-giant having arrived at the bank around his birthday to retrieve something from one of the highest security vaults (with a fair amount of arguing since the bank had updated a lot of their rules), which considering the timing meant Dumbledore had likely hoped he would have appeared at the bank to get money and in turn be noticed.

As Jeremiah would say after hearing that portion: Screw that!

It would appear that Hagrid did not notice him as there was a small expression of sadness before putting back the smile and start ushering the prospective students away from the older students, whom Harry saw was heading to where carriages were awaiting their passengers. He did do a minor double-take when he could have sworn there was a silhouette of a horse in front of them yet everyone walked past them without a glance. The horse like apparition turned its head and looked him in the eye steadily. Harry waved his hand uncertainly to which the horse let out a sound that appeared happy, before Harry hurried on to the group leading away from him. By the time he caught up to them with Hermione and the others bringing up the rear, they had arrived at a steep and narrow path that got a few of the students stumbling about in the dark due to the tree roots and wet rocks littering the path despite Hagrid's massive sized lantern. After helping poor Neville from slipping on a wet stone for the third time in a row, Harry had enough and conjured up a ball of light that temporarily blinded him and the rest from the sudden addition, then quickly flicking his hand to the air that made the ball go up slightly and split to form a chain of balls lighting up the path.

"Is that better Neville?" Harry asked while keeping a firm hold on his shoulder.

"Much better than before, thank you for that. I keep tripping even in day light." Neville looked down in shame.

"It is not your fault, so chin up. This area is a bloody death trap waiting to happen, and I really do not want to spend my first night at Hogwarts in the hospital." Harry squeezed his shoulder before looking to the others who stared at him. "How about you guys?"

"That is a very useful spell. I don't recall that in the books." Padma remarked as she looked at the ball nearest to them.

"Did you do that without a wand?" Paravati asked with wide eyes. Hermione nodded with a hungry look that made Harry want to take a step back at the obvious desire to learn, it did not look appropriate on a twelve-year-old girl for God's sake!

"Thanks for that piece of spell-work, young man!" Thankfully for Harry, Hagrid called out from the front before getting everyone to follow the giant again. Harry merely pointed at the direction they were to go to get the others moving, although the expressions of the girls' faces made Harry mentally think he needed to be ready for a lot of questions. They continued at a much faster pace thanks to the balls of light, and it did not take long for them to reach a boat pier where they spotted a few boats floating about on the dark waters of the huge lake. Harry could not help the image of some creature rising from the dark depths of the lake and shuddered at the chill down his spine. He really did not need to think that.

_'___Note to self for improving Hogwarts: Get plenty of light for the rock path and the docks.'__

"Okay everyone, please get inside the boats! Four to a boat only!" Hagrid called out to them, getting them to move the boats while he took one himself, his size easily filling the space and making it drop just barely before the water would spill over the edge. Harry went to take a boat with Neville and Hermione along with a girl who managed to get in by their end. Under the lighting, she had long dark hair that went halfway down her back, a lightly tanned skin tone that suggested time under the sun, a slightly narrow facial feature that somewhat magnified her natural looks, and an expression of pure curiosity as she looked at him and the ball of light nearest to her. When everyone was on the boat, Harry flicked his hand again so that the balls along the path re-joined those at the pier, increasing their size and brightness for everyone.

"Thank you whoever you are!" The giant turned to the others with a wide smile. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Wizardry!" Most of the children cheered at his welcome. "Now then, all of you are in for a treat! You will get your first look at Hogwarts across the Black Lake, so please make sure that you don't rock the boat too much, and whatever you do, do not stick your hand in the water. Squiddy is a little playful tonight."

_'___Squiddy?'__ Harry and likely everyone in the area looked at Hagrid with an incredulous expression, and a good few looked to the lake with an expression expecting monsters from the deep to come and drag them to Davy Jones' Locker.

_'___Urgent note to self: Consider new path for first-years. Alternative solution: Focus __**__**plenty**__**__ of light bulbs or the equivalent for the lake itself, with nets to stop creatures!'__

"Right then, if the person can dim the lights a bit? Thank you. Onward!" With that, all of their boats moved forward following Hagrid's, Harry's conjured balls of light moving in pace with each boat while dimming in their luminescence, giving the current atmosphere the air of a spirit procession going along the lake with fireflies flying about them. Harry alternated looking down at the boat to see if he could find any signs of how they were able to move along the lake, and talking with Neville who looked ready to pass out, while the others looked at the lights or chatted briefly to get their nervousness out of their heads. All of that got forgotten when Hagrid told them to lower their heads as they entered a cove and came out to a sight that honestly took Harry's breath away.

_'___Okay, now I understand why Jeremiah and John Doe said it was an experience on its own to see Hogwarts at the lake.'__ Harry thought as he gazed upon the institution that was touted to be the best in Europe. It did look very magnificent with the windows illuminated by whatever lighting available in the castle, showcasing a castle that looked formidable on the cliff with the lake reflecting almost everything and adding more glow to the structure, and with a starry background as a backdrop. He could understand why John Doe had written in the journal that no matter how much he tried to give a description to Hogwarts, one had to be there to witness it themselves to understand the feeling of awe from the place.

It was, pardon the pun, truly magical.

Their little boat trip went on just a little longer as the prospective students looked on at the castle in wonder until they reached the docks by the castle, with Hagrid making the wood structure vibrate lightly under his weight as he got off the boat. Harry kept a firm hold on Neville as he got off himself, then the two boys offered a hand to their female passengers, with Harry helping the unknown girl out of the boat.

"Thank you, kind sir." The girl replied with a teasing tone, to which Harry gave a bow out of humour.

"It is no problem, my fair lady." Harry answered back with a smile. "It is quite dark, and as I told a friend a few minutes ago, I do not want to be in the hospital on the first night of Hogwarts. I believe that is the same for you?"

"Indeed." The girl raised a hand to him. "My name is Lisa Turpin, and you are?"

"Harry Evans." Harry took her hand and shook it, only for Lisa to lean forward to look at him closer.

"Harry Evans, how interesting. The family name is common enough, but with Harry as your first… One might say that you are related to a certain boy." Lisa winked as she straightened herself up. "I will keep your secret for now. It should be entertaining when the sorting arrives." With that, she went to meet up with some friends and leaving Harry feeling very grateful for his Occlumency as he was currently thanking every god he knew that she did not say it out loud and at the same time berating himself for not getting enough precautions. A minor thought came to his mind that if Lisa Turpin did not end up in Ravenclaw or Slytherin, he would eat his wand. But as it stood, he needed to be more prepared if he was already getting people wondering about his alias, he had to go against the master manipulator himself at some point in the future.

He needed to practise more constant vigilance!

_(Somewhere in London, a certain soon-to-retire Auror was talking with a certain female Head of the DMLE regarding her niece's arrival to Hogwarts and the earlier arrests at the platform when he paused to look around the room with a wicked smile, making the woman pale at his expression. He then started shouting praises of someone demonstrating his favourite saying while making the woman palm her face in frustration and wondering who the hell was the one making him this excitable.)_

"Harry, are you okay?" Padma tapped him on the shoulder as he stood there wondering the odd feeling he just had.

"Yeah, just thinking about this moment." Harry answered easily. "I have heard about Hogwarts a few times in the past couple of years, not to mention the different staff involved. And when you consider the good and the bad news one hears about the academy, I can't help wondering what my parents would feel knowing I am now here."

"Well, I suppose it can be a little nerve-wrecking." Padma nodded in agreement as she looked to the castle. "I won't lie, I have heard a few stories about Hogwarts and Britain, not all of them nice." She turned slightly to look at Harry with a shy smile. "At least I have some company." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder to assure her, making her smile wider. Of course, the moment got interrupted by a smirking Parvati with a gleam in her eyes.

"Oh my, something you want to share?" Harry broke contact with Padma's shoulder and the two looked to the side with blushing faces while Parvati gave off a laugh that sounded like that old lady down the street when she found something amusing to entertain herself with. Even Neville gave a light if nervous chuckle at their interaction, but it did make them less nervous for what was to come. They joined the rest and made their way up another path which was just as dark but less wet with more proper footing which made a few around Harry thanked him for the light source. It was only once they passed one of the torch lamps that Harry began to bring back his light balls and reducing their intensity until they reached the front gate, upon which Harry gave a flick of the finger to cancel the spell. As though on cue, Hagrid raised an arm and knocked hard on the doors, making Harry wonder briefly if they were reinforced to ensure the giant's strength did not break them as the gate was shaking from the force alone. He could see the dust coming off of the brickwork from the knocks.

He would think about it later, as the doors opened up to reveal a stern woman dressed in dark robes with a clan tartan wrapped around her. It was time to enter the academy from which his parents graduated from. Harry produced a small smirk as he walked in with the others.

He wondered if Filius would enjoy the little tribute to his mother at the sorting…


	8. Book 1-07

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

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**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 7

**Posted Date:** August 26 2020

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The sounds of chatter filled the Great Hall of Hogwarts as the denizens of the castle await the arrival of the prospective students to come. Some looking forward to their younger siblings or relations to join them to their house, others await to find who would be their likely opponent for certain matters in the house. A few even thought of the sorting as the start of their final year before graduating from Hogwarts and entering the world to work.

But there was one person that plenty were looking forward to for better or worse: Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived.

The boy who had defeated the dark wizard Voldemort and then hidden by Albus Dumbledore for his supposed protection and training, only to be revealed in the newspaper that the boy had no contact with the old man whatsoever, and that he was left at the mercy of abusive relatives without much knowledge of the magic world for the first few years until a mysterious benefactor came forward to whisk him away. After that no sighting was found, although there was apparently some correspondence between him and the Daily Prophet after the newspaper had switched owners and underwent a major restructuring to ensure the newspaper was no long a gossip rag or a mouth piece for the Ministry, something that many had remarked to be a miracle on its own. There were a few who had considered it to be a hoax until Harry got another interview with another reporter, again with the same conditions to tell the truth before talking about what he was dealing regarding his situation around Dumbledore and how he felt about his fame.

It was also around that time that a number of children and adults had cheerfully remarked that the boy had managed to bypass the illegal mail wards stuck on him and replied back to them for their thanks. That in turn reduced the noise on how the boy was seemingly arrogant to not reply to his fans, helped when Harry's lawyer produced proof of the illegal mail wards on him that prevented him getting the letters. The fact that the boy apologised for something out of his control and went to the trouble of answering back gave the recipients a good impression of the boy.

There were a good many from old established lines good or bad who knew of his family, the likes of Fleamont, Dorea and Charles being the bigger factors in their memories, and they await to see how this boy would compare to them. For the older students, particularly those who aim to go into politics upon graduation, they would see with their own eyes if the boy would grow to become a major player for the country, or an obstacle to be dealt with.

At the front of the hall was the staff table, where most of the professors were seated waiting for the potential students to arrive, each one with thoughts of their own regarding the boy in question. For the younger professors such as Vector and Babbling, they were indifferent aside from hoping the child was not some blow-hard. For the senior stuff, many were hoping to get a glimpse of the boy who they had the pleasure of carrying in their arms and enjoyed his shrieks of happiness even in dark times. For the remaining five, there was a mix of expectations.

One had hopes of the child remembering her as his pseudo-aunt while praying he did not pick up his father's mischief for pranks, even as she got out of her seat and made her way to the awaiting first years.

One was waiting to see if the child had a green thumb to help with the greenhouses like his mother used to have.

A third was waiting to see if the boy was as arrogant and scornful as his father or as caring and brilliant as his mother, all while having a sneer on his face and hiding thoughts on all that had happened over the past month.

A fourth was looking forward to seeing the child of his favourite student to see if he could apply some of his ideas to the institution and perhaps bring up the standards.

And finally, the fifth who has designs for the boy and wishes to have him under his thumb until a time his usefulness becomes a liability, then he would decide what to do later.

Filius Flitwick sat in his chair eagerly awaiting the arrival of potential Ravenclaws and more importantly the son of his dear student, cheerfully noting how a few of his Ravens were comparing notes and stories of their summer. His own summer was quite unique since he got the chance to interact with Harry and exchange ideas and stories of his family, the boy was certainly eager for stories regarding the Potters and his heritage, wondering about their expertise and flaws. Filius would take great pleasure in enlightening the young boy about stories of his grandfather Fleamont and great-grandfather Charles, on how they were often compared between the two for being so different and yet similar in manner. He also took the chance to witness some of the wand-less spells the boy had reproduced to aid with his work and the few runes he had designed to make do in an area that could be explained away without the use of magic.

His eyes peered at the back of his oldest colleague with his smile slightly dampened in thoughts of the past month. Minerva had gained back some of her old fire when she was dealing with the issues of the education and Harry, but somewhere halfway she started regressing to a 'yes' woman without warning and it took a fair bit on his hand to get things moving properly. The thing that really got to him was the unusual air of smugness being projected by Albus during the last few meetings when Minerva seemed to cave under his words, and it was only with quick thinking on Filius and some help from Harry's barrister that he managed to get the necessary bits done. After the fifth such meeting, Filius had told her to get to a Healer at Saint Mungos to check herself out and let him handle those meetings, which certainly sped things up in his favor.

His eyes then went to a certain potions master, recalling the man's behaviour upon his return to the country and hearing about the new additions for rules and lessons. The man kept going on about 'spoilt princes' and 'arrogant like his father' until Filius had enough and dumped the folder containing the extracts on Harry' medical history and abuse before walking out of the office. The man was not seen until the next day when he appeared in Filius's office to return the folder and walked out silently with a notable air of solemnity and pain. Even now, behind the veneer of sneers, Filius could see that Severus Snape was looking forward to seeing the child of his once lost love, if only to see if he was to be vindicated in his beliefs or to be abused of them.

And finally, his eyes went to Albus Dumbledore, his grandfatherly image firmly in place with the air of a man awaiting for new students to grace the halls, while hiding a certain level of 'something' that made Filius resolved to keep an eye on Harry to ensure his safety. He knew the old man must have done something to Minerva, and likely to himself as well considering his latest cleansing ritual purged a fair number of potions in his system. Normally done bi-weekly, he had to increase his regiment to every odd day for the past month alone. His cousins at Gringotts were not pleased at the fact that he was effectively getting poisoned so easily and wanted retribution, but it was difficult to prove who did it considering the location, even if they had no doubts on the possible identity.

It was not just the possibility of potions involved that made Filius wary. For the past month, Albus had been pushing for bills to try and get heirs of certain lineages under his wing, citing how they could be better protected, but thanks to the lawyer working for Harry, they were revealed to be attempts to take control of heirs and in turn possible family lines and their fortunes. And while most of the pure-blood families stopped at that point, Filius looked through the wording and knew that Albus was attempting to spread his net as wide as possible to grab Harry. This was perhaps one of the times the Blood Bigotry actually came in handy for someone not in the list of the Sacred Twenty Eight, as the Potters were considered 'impure' due to their marriages with muggle-borns or squibs, thus invalidating a fair number of Albus's bills. There were however a few that could be used against Harry in the event he wished to take the OWL Exams early, even if they could somewhat subverted depending on conditions.

There was also the issue of the old wizard ignoring his and Minerva's attempts to better the education classes. If it was not for the Ministry deciding to send in an inspection team to check on the teaching conditions and the education levels, Filius got the feeling that Albus would have just ignored everything just so everything could stay the same in that little world he appeared to be living in. He really wondered if Albus was actually sabotaging Britain with this.

All Filius could do was to watch over Harry and protect him, while trying to collect evidence of Albus's indiscretions. Too long Filius has stood by not questioning Albus's actions enough, this time he was going to take an active role to ensure Hogwarts was still standing with her students safe from harm and manipulations. That man may lose his position as Supreme Mugwump and perhaps the Chief Warlock position, but he still held a lot of power to retain the seat of Headmaster, and it would take a lot of effort to oust him out of that for even a little while.

The sounds of the doors opening broke his thoughts and drew his attention to the prospective students coming behind Minerva as she led them to where they would be sorted, inwardly surprised at how fast time seemed to move when he was thinking. His sharp eyes picked through the faces to find the one he hoped to see, a part of him relieved that the boy was here even if it was with some reluctance since his parents had placed his name in the registry after his birth. He still hoped that Harry would enjoy his time in Hogwarts, and that he could get a chance to teach him what he taught to his mother.

~ooOOoo~

(10 minutes ago)

Harry looked on in silent interest at the stern looking woman who answered the door after Hagrid knocked hard on it. She looked to be in her mid-fifties with her hair tied up in a tight bun and dressed in dark robes similar to your stereotypical witch found in literature, complete with a pointy witch's hat to boot. Even in the current lighting, one might expect her to start throwing fireballs or casting spells to turn them into toads for daring to enter the castle.

"First years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid announced to her while waving a hand, before leaning in to try and whisper some words. 'Try' being the optimum word since they could still hear him even from behind. "I counted them, there are a few missing, and I can't find him!" Hagrid spoke with a hint of sadness.

"Calm yourself Hagrid. I am certain that we will know more later, we will discuss this later. I will take them from here." The stern woman spoke before turning to the children. "Come in, we have been expecting you." With that the children went into the castle, a few waving to Hagrid as they passed him. Harry slightly turned his head as the giant looked about them and missed him again before following the rest of the group, taking his time to view the structure from inside for the first time. Honestly speaking, he could fit the Dursley's house in the Entrance Hall alone with ample space for the chimney. The stone walls were lit with the flaming torches much like those done in Gringotts, throwing light and shadows upwards to a ceiling too high to make out, with a marvellous marble staircase that would take them to the higher levels.

The children went up said staircase and across a flagged stone floor that must have been great in its prime before years of students walking about had worn it down to its current state. In the quiet ambience, Harry could make out the drone of hundreds of voices a doorway a little to the right side - _'___That must be where the rest of the students are seated.'__ \- but Professor McGonagall led them to the left where they gathered into the small empty chamber. The group of children packed themselves together a little closer than they normally would, now feeling the nervousness of getting sorted before the rest.

"Good evening to you all, and welcome to Hogwarts." The woman greeted them sternly, her gaze holding them in place alone. "My name is Minerva McGonagall, and it is my pleasure to greet you here in the school of the Founders. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your place in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses where you will stay for the next four years. With them, you will have your classes, your meals, your sleep in the dormitory, and others."

"There are four houses here that represent the strengths of wizards and witches in Britain. We have Gryffindor, the house for the brave and bold; Hufflepuff, the house of the hard working and loyalty; Ravenclaw, the house for the intellects; and finally Slytherin, for those of cunning and ambition. Each of these houses has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards that has contributed to history. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose said points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." She continued as she looked at each of them. "The sorting will take place in a few minutes in the Great Hall in front of your future classmates. I suggest you use that time to smarten yourselves up as much as you can while waiting." She added while looking pointedly at some people who were looking scruffy before moving out of the chamber, giving them the chance to let out a breath of air they were unconsciously withholding.

"Oh dear, is it a test? Do I need to change something on the spot? Have I learned enough spells on it?" Hermione started to hyperventilate as she went through the spells she read up, unintentionally making the ones closest to her to start panicking.

"Miss Granger, you need to calm down." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder when she was not doing that, while mentally channeling the 'Force' through her to make her relax. "Hermione, you can relax on this. The sorting should not require any of us to perform magic so early on."

"And how would you know that for sure?" A boy asked with dark hair and a notable sneer on his face, something in Harry's opinion was very out of place for one so young. And the manner he spoke in drew the attention of the others, making Harry sigh mentally. Well at least he could try to ease their minds.

"We are first years from all walks of life, I highly doubt that they would ask us to perform much magic in front of them, certainly it cannot be some form of fighting." Harry pointed that out to them. "Furthermore, the professor already gave a clue to us on that sorting."

"She did?" One of the girls asked with a tilt of the head.

"She was stating the traits of each house earlier, that means we would go into the houses based on our personalities." Harry shrugged. "My guess? We will be introduced to an artefact to undergo their equivalent of a personality test."

"Yeah right, like that would be the case." the first speaker snorted derisively at Harry.

"It is your choice to believe me or not, I am just making an educated guess." Harry remarked unimpressed with the boy clearly trying to rile him up. "As I said, they can't expect us to pull magic from the start, because there would definitely be an issue in demonstrating it since a fair number of us are first generation wizards or witches, and even half-bloods raised in the muggle world. And even for those raised around magic, I doubt that they would ask for very advanced magic."

"Whatever, it is not like I care about that." The boy puffed up his chest. "All I know is I will be in Hufflepuff, and I will lead it since it is my birth right." Harry barely resisted rolling his eyes, and noted the few who did roll their eyes at the boy's words. Something about that action and the boy's tone made him think the boy had repeated this many times before.

"So be it then, not that I care." Harry turned to Hermione with his back to the rude boy, something that must have rankled him and amused the others given the snickering and growling. "Anyway, it is not likely for us to do something this early." She did not look too convinced so he decided on a different route. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cloth bag and stuck his hand in, briefly sticking his entire arm to find the item before pulling it back out to reveal a book. That certainly got her attention and some of the muggle-raised children who were comparing it to Doctor Who.

"Let's try something else. Do you have this book per chance?" Harry handed the book to Hermione who took it with thanks and looked at the cover with interest, with the others moving closer to view.

"Guide to Entering Magical Britain: Cultures, Manners and Proper Understanding." Hermione read off the title with a tilt of the head, noting how it looked a lot like modern textbooks as opposed to the old books of parchment like the spell-books they have for the year. "I don't recall buying the book. And this looks like something from regular publishers instead of those from around here."

"It is a new book that was published about a few months back." Harry answered her unasked query. "Pardon me for asking this, but as a first-gen, you must have been approached by one of the tellers in Gringotts or an officer from the Lily Evans Foundation regarding a form to sign?"

"Ah! We have been approached by both during our visit to the bank roughly three months before, something about protection and sponsorship?" Hermione asked with other first-generation children nodding their agreement while their counterparts looked to each other with confusion or interest at the name of the group.

"The foundation was created to cover first-generations and mundane-raised half-bloods. The students are granted sponsor-ships and certain amount of protection by certain families in the magical sector to ensure they are not held back by costs and not taken advantage of. I do not know if you have subscriptions to the Daily Prophet, but Albus Dumbledore has his rights as a pseudo guardian removed last month due to infractions and abuse of power. The foundation is the answer to ensure the students previously under his supposed care are granted another level of protection. Arguably speaking, the foundation provides a better aegis for first-generations and half-bloods."

"How so?" Padma asked curiously.

"Well, the story is a little glossed over due to the severity, but Hogwarts does not boast the best in nurturing students in a safe environment. There have been cases of bullying that had gotten out of hand either from the house rivalry or other oddities like blood purity." Harry answered noting how some of the students nodded or looked surprised at the statement. "There is also the unspoken bit regarding Dumbledore's policy of not properly punishing the offenders. As you can imagine, the Board of Directors along with the parents are not impressed and as stated, removed his guardianship rights. The foundation had been created beforehand to ensure the students would be protected beyond that removal."

"And why should we care about that?" The rude boy from earlier spoke out rudely. "Not like the muggle-born would do much for the community. They would just leave anyway." Harry could see that lines were getting drawn early on as a few nodded their heads while others moved away from them and closer to Harry subconsciously. Oddly enough, there was one blond haired boy who look torn between agreeing and looking away from the first speaker.

"It is that type of thinking that makes Magical Britain a bit of a laughing stock. If you had checked the papers, we are losing out because of that silly blood purity issue. Everyone has strengths to contribute, to discard them over blood purity of all things is making our economy bad, and the citizens be ridiculed." Harry spoke out firmly. "To you, it may not be much. To a few of us, the foundation is like a pebble thrown into a lake, it will create ripples that changes the surface. This book is one of the ripples to help the first generations or mundane-raised get a leg up in a society we are entering tonight. We have a chance to make this world better, I say we give it a shot."

_"___I could not have put it better myself."__

Harry turned quickly on his heel while a few of the students screamed, his mind speeding through ideas of different spells he had read or created, only to pause at the entity before him.

_"___Hello there!"__ The apparition of a short and fat monk dressed in the old tunic and habits of the old days greeted Harry cheerfully, not bothered by the fact that a fair number of the children were backing away from him or the other ghosts coming through the wall. _"___Could not help but listen in on your conversation, and I must say, it is very refreshing to hear someone speak out about the issues of the world."__

_"___Indeed."__ A second ghost came forward, this one sporting a what some have considered to be the Medieval clothing of 14th to 17th Century Britain, consisting of a doublet, a pair of tights and breeches, and an unusually thick ruff around his neck, all of which complemented the thick curly hair, small mustache and goatee. _"___You are surprisingly ope-minded and mature for your age."__

"I just feel it is a waste of time and talent to worry over something as silly as blood purity when there is no evidence to say that one's blood is better than the other." Harry shrugged while looking about and pausing at the sight of a female ghost who had entered last through the wall, looking completely bored at the proceedings. He supposed she was beautiful, with her supposed age around late teens to early twenties, the waist-length hair and the floor-length cloak, although she did look a touch haughty at first glance. There was a hint of something, Harry was not sure what it was, but it felt that she had a hint of melancholy as she looked upon them.

Harry nodded his head respectfully at her, which she returned after a moment's pause. While the other ghosts garnered the attention of the other thirty-six first years, this particular one floated over to him and spoke softly while tilting her head. __"There is something different about you. Something which sets you apart from the other children and I am not referring to your appearance or your views."__ Harry was surprised but managed to contain it to a raised eyebrow. He wondered if she could sense his magic being a little different from the others or perhaps the seals he had on him for protection. He kept his thoughts inward while giving a bow to her.

"A good evening to you, my lady. My name is Harry Evans," He glanced at the other children, noting none were close enough to listen "although that is more of a cover name. To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He decided formal was good, especially given how old the ghost could be. She smiled and held her hand out to him as if to let him kiss it.

__"I believe I know what is your real name, for those eyes of yours are a pair I have seen once before in recent years. As for my name, it is long forgotten in these halls. Most call me the Grey Lady, but you may call me Helena."__ Harry reached forward with a hand to hers, a touch curious at the prospect of interacting with an actual ghost. With that thought, Harry lightly pushed a bit of Force Magic to his hand and touched hers, following through with the action to kiss it as part of tradition while inwardly wondering at the solidness of the ghost hand in his grasp and beneath his lips despite the light chill from it. He got further confirmation at the oddity when he heard a startled gasp from Helena.

"I'm guessing that was not supposed to happen." Judging by her reaction she had definitely not expected to make physical contact, and…

Was that a blush on her cheeks?

__"No, I..."__ Unfortunately before she could finish what she was saying, Professor McGonagall had returned to the chamber and began to chivvy the ghosts along and lead the first years into the Great Hall. With a last glance at him, Helena drifted through the wall and disappeared.

"Come along now, they are waiting for you." Professor McGonagall called out to the rest of students at the doorway. With a mental note to talk to Helena again, Harry made his way to the others. With all of them rounded up, the professor then proceeded to herd them out of the door and through the big set of doors that led to the Great Hall where there were four long tables that went the length of the hall itself. At the far end of the hall was apparently the Staff Table, a tiered table that evidently gave some idea of the status of the teachers. Before them and between two tables was a stool with an old hat placed on top of it, the supposedly fabled Sorting Hat he had read about from John Doe. Above them was an enchanted ceiling that had been charmed to display the night sky from outside, something Harry could hear Hermione talking about it to her neighbour from 'Hogwarts A History'.

His attention was returned to the front when the hat started singing to them all. It was one thing to expect it based on john Doe's descriptions, it was another thing altogether experiencing the singing. As Harry listened in to the lyrics, he frowned at the meaning and the presentation from it. From what he had gathered from John Doe's diary and his own observations, the houses were being depicted very objectively.

Gryffindors were supposedly the chivalrous who dared to tread where no angels walk, but in effect were reckless idiots who go about with abandonment and seemingly boast about being the 'light' of the four. A house for the jocks and popular kids that might look down on those wanting to be more than brawn.

Ravenclaws were the scholars who seek intelligence, but in practice were considered the geeky researchers who hoard knowledge and not spread it out properly. A group of possibly close-minded individuals who seek confirmation solely from books without proper fact-checking or experimenting.

Hufflepuffs were the general workforce if one were to be blunt, people who were loyal to each other and hardworking if only to prove to the other folks that they were not the leftovers who could not fit in with the rest. A group that could easily turn on others outside of their house if even a hint of injustice against one of their own was applied.

Finally, there were the Slytherins, people who have cunning and ambition to obtain what they desire, considered to be for those dismissing morals in pursuit of their dreams and constantly backstabbing one another for power no matter the course, thus labeling them as 'dark'. A literal pit of vipers if one were to describe them.

Granted, they had a magical hat that would go rummaging through their minds to supposedly pick apart their memories and personalities to fit them best, but Harry felt it was not a good representation of who they could be. They were only eleven, you ended up sticking a label that would be with them for seven years and possibly longer.

His thoughts temporarily stopped when his senses picked up something from the hat that felt familiar. Reaching out, Harry quirked an eyebrow at what felt like a compulsion on the hat, something that he would not have noticed if not for the fact that it stuck out like a sore thumb among the other enchantments he could sense from the hat. There was also the bit that it had a very familiar signature that Harry had encountered a few times from the letters sent to grab his location.

So, it would appear that the headmaster had a hand in trying to control the sorting. Now that just won't do.

Harry glanced around him to make sure no one was watching him (something that was easy considering the majority were focused on the hat, and anyone trying to look at him were blocked those around him), before focusing on the hat and flicking a finger in its direction just as the professor called out the first name.

**"******AHCOO!"****

Many of the students and staff jumped at the sudden sneeze given off by the hat; Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on the stool in an instinctive reaction to grab her heart at the suddenness, not helped when the sneeze dislodged a clump of what appeared to be years of accumulated dust and dirt on to the seat with bits of it dropping off the side.

**"******So sorry about that. Don't know what came over me."**** The Sorting Hat sniffed while twisting about to look at Minerva. **"******But whatever that was actually helped, feels like years of dust got removed."****

"It did." Professor McGonagall looked at it and the clump of dirty dust with her disapproving expression, one that went further when she noted Hannah Abbott looking like she had second thoughts going under the hat. She raised her wand to vanish the dust away and after a brief pause, applied a cleaning charm to the hat's interior.

**"******Oh my, that tickles!"**** The Sorting Hat wiggled about before turning to the girl. "So sorry for that, please step forward. Don't worry, she cleaned me out." The girl looked very reluctant to do so but stepped forward to have the hat placed on her. The hat wiggled a bit on her head before humming, a little bit comical in Harry's opinion.

**"******Hmm, interesting… Very well then, Hufflepuff!"**** That earned a cheer and applause from the table with yellow and black colours, even as the young girl came to them with her robes changing accordingly. This followed shortly by the next girl named Susan Bones, someone that Harry had read up to be related to Amelia Bones.

**"******Gryffindor!"**** The third girl broke the trend and went to the house of gold and red, earning a couple of wolf-whistles from the red-haired twins he saw earlier on the train. After that it was just students moving to their allocated houses as they get called in alphabetical order.

Harry did keep a cursory eye on Dumbledore as the old wizard looked at the sorting and likely for him at the same time. It may have been a good thing that he removed that compulsion from the hat as it was clear that the old man was trying to influence the sorting without making it obvious about it. It was subtle, but Harry could see that he was doing something with his finger at specific moments when a certain child got called up, and it was also clear that he was not getting the results he wanted, especially when a Vincent Crabbe got called up and after a few moments sorted him into Hufflepuff, something that made the denizens of the hall whisper in disbelief. From what little he could hear, Crabbe was supposed to go to Slytherin like his family.

Well then, Dumbledore was likely going to hate the time when it comes to Harry, considering he removed the chance of him being shunted into Gryffindor without his approval.

The sorting went on, with Harry taking note of certain names that came up from his studies of Magical Britain and a few students going to houses that were total opposites to those taken by their parents. One Gregory Goyle went to Hufflepuff much to the disbelief of the residents, while a Melissa Bobbin went to Slytherin, something that Harry gathered was odd based on the chatter about her family normally going to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. There were students who instantaneously go to their houses while a few stayed under the hat for quite some time, and during those cases Harry could hear a few betting on where they would go. Hermione Granger went to Gryffindor after a rather lengthy period that Harry guessed was her arguing with the hat, given how it looked disgruntled announcing the name. Neville Longbottom stayed for a good seven minutes until it called out the house of badgers, which the boy looked very happy to go to, and in his haste forgot to remove the hat, leading to others to laugh. Harry merely clapped and nodded to him with a smile and a thumbs up, acknowledging his entry.

The blonde-haired boy from earlier, apparently named Draco Malfoy, also took some time for the hat to sort him out, something that evidently made a few speculate if he would also go to a different house compared to others. It was almost comical when the hat finally announced his place in Slytherin, there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the hall as though it finally saw reason to put him in the appropriate house. One Daphne Greengrass went to that house along with Tracy Davis, the former moving with a grace and elegance that Harry and likely all the older students could tell would make her quite eye-catching in her older years at Hogwarts, even if she was already showing early signs of it with her long dark hair with strands of gold present, pale skin and the air of a cold individual at first glance. The latter was also eye-catching in her old way with her brunette hair done in twin-tails and lightly tanned skin, though she moved in a manner that made people think of a cat ready for mischief. Harry could have sworn Professor McGonagall looked to the ceiling as if she was praying for deliverance. The Patil sisters were, as he thought, heading to the different houses he had guessed, the both of them offering a smile at him at they went their respective ways.

After a couple more names under the alphabet 'P', finally his name came up. Harry held back a smirk as Minerva paused at the name to look up at the remaining prospective, before calling it out.

"Potter Evans, Harry."

Showtime.

~ooOOoo~

Flitwick grinned like a mad man as he watched the boy step forward amid the whispers of the hall, not showing any signs of listening to those around him wondering about his appearance and his extension of the name. He had the feeling that Harry's appearance was likely a big factor for the confusion; despite the lawsuits against the authors for spreading the unauthorised stories, people still associated the image of a younger James Potter as the basis for young Harry's appearance, with the messy hair, thin frame, glasses and more importantly, the lightning bolt scar as the identifier. It was pretty much repeated time and again by people and children about his description as the way of identifying the lad.

That was clearly far from the young man they were looking at. Harry evidently gained more height from the last time he had met the boy, along with a more pronounced build, his hair properly cut and maintained neatly, his emerald eyes displayed for all to see, and of course the biggest factor was the absence of the signature lightning bolt scar. All of that proved his thoughts that Harry could walk down the streets and no one would know it was him unless pointed out.

From his side, Filius could hear his fellow staff members chatting about Harry's appearance, with Severus looking like he had seen a ghost while at the same time a touch of pleasant caution, possibly due to Harry not looking like a carbon copy of James Potter. Albus on the other hand looked like he had swallowed too many of his blasted candy without taking water. Considering how many times he kept proclaiming about the boy looking so much like James Potter, this was definitely off the mark. Filius would need to keep an eye in case the old man tried to cast aspirations of Harry being a fake.

The bit of the name addition seemed to be picked about by the more traditional groups. Filius had noted the addition when preparing for the evening and kept silent on it to see if the others were alert (much to his disappointment, no one seemed to have realize it). The muggle-borns would not be that curious, but to have an additional name is something of a big deal in the magical world since names have power and some have hidden meanings for the additional. Most times it would be the addition of a family line, to ensure one of the old families does not become extinct, either through marriage, line of succession or rights of conquests. It was however something that if appeared in an automatically updated list of names, meant that magic had considered to be valid for the person in question to carry one the line. Usually that was reserved for the major family lines like Black or Rosier, or clans from the old British lines, and not for typical names from the muggle world.

Considering Harry's addition of his mother's family name, that meant magic had accepted the claim that his mother was considered the first of her line to allow the creation of a clan at the very least. And thus, he would be the head of one British Pure-Blood Line and one Family Clan. It would be interesting to see how far he could go with these two, let alone any possible lines he could inherit.

For now, he would enjoy the sorting.

~ooOOoo~

_'___Right, no pressure.'__

Harry thought to himself as he stepped forward to the Sorting Hat while whispers surrounded him and the students were either leaning forward or even standing on their seats to catch a glimpse of him. Harry made sure to portray a confident front without appearing to be arrogant and to walk with a clear stride as he was taught how to do from his guardian, all so he could make a good impression of the populace.

Although he was confused by some of the girls giggling and commenting on him being cute. He was a boy, boys are supposed to be handsome, not cute.

He did not think much on that as he arrived at the stool and sat on it, waiting for the woman to place the hat on him. The professor did lower the hat but paused just before laying on his head to look at him with a forlorn smile. Before Harry could respond, the hat covered his eyes and he waited for something to happen.

**"******Well, you are certainly different."****

Harry stiffened at the sudden voice in his ear but managed to relax quickly. John Doe did state in his journal about the Sorting Hat peering through his mind, but it was another thing to experience it.

**"******You have heard about me from this John Doe? Curious, I do not recall sorting anyone with that name before. And if I am right, I have you to thank for removing that little compulsion off me."****

_'___John Doe is a moniker the mundane use to refer to the person who left behind a journal for me to read about Hogwarts since I do not know his name. As for the compulsion, I was not sure what that was or if that was meant to be there. The feeling was 'foreign' if I had to describe the sensation. It was also because I had experienced that a few times in the times when the headmaster tried to find me using the letters.'__ Harry answered in his mind.

**"******My thanks to you for that. I am not giving names, but a certain someone has been trying to influence the sorting of the students for quite some time, and for this evening he decided to give me the extra strong version, supposedly to 'put them in their rightful places'."**** Harry could hear the quotation remarks in the tone used by the Hat and likely eye-rolling action even if it was inanimate object. **"******Thankfully you got it out, so I could sort the students in their rights houses, though I imagine a few do not expect their placements."****

_'___That is putting it lightly.'__ Harry smirked internally at the faces of the students and the reactions of the staff.

**"******Right then, without further ado…"**** Harry got the sensation of someone trying to wiggle their way into his mind, not a very comforting thought. **"******Oh my, you have quite the mindscape for one of your age group. Though this is giving me a bit of problem since I need to access your memories and ******__**WWAAAHHHHH**__******!"**** That last part got shouted out loud in surprise to the hall, and Harry could feel one of the more benevolent traps tripped at that point.

_'___Oh dear. Please wait for me.'__ Harry closed his eyes to focus inwards, then with the sensation of falling into water, he slipped deeper into his psyche and into his mind. After a few seconds, Harry opened his eyes to view his mindscape.

There was a saying, Harry could not recall whom or where he had heard it from, about how a person's mind was likened to a garden. It could be cultivated or let loose, but it would always grow forth; it was just a question of whether anything useful would grow in it and be allowed to grow in numbers. Harry liked that reference and with the books on Occlumency, started trying out different ideas for his mindscape. He did have a hard time trying to settle on one considering the number of ideas he had to protect his mind and the memories, then he got a brainwave while reading John Doe's notebook on Occlumency and suggestions.

Why settle for one type of mindscape when he could have multiple, each set differently for various visitors or intruders?

It took a couple of months to get the 'bones' set and the better part of a year to get the mindscape structured well, but Harry finally got his working in the form of a giant glass-dome diorama that had multiple extensions branching out to smaller dioramas to represent different parts of his mind and personality, each with their own set of traps and precautions. Anyone visiting would be immediately shunted to one of the smaller 'balls' which represent the various entrances keyed to their intent. If they have good intent, they would come to a more relaxed setting like a garden or a small town. Ill intent would bring them to places that Harry got ideas from history books, horror novels and movies. On the off chance someone avoided those and landed outside, they would only see the diorama with the glass fogged to ensure they could not see inside, and if they tried to destroy it, his more drastic measures would be a good deterrent.

Harry was almost gleeful in hoping someone with ill intent would try, if only to see how they would fare with the likes of Jack the Ripper or the Terminator.

From what he could tell, the Sorting Hat was just trying to examine his mind when it got shunted to one of the more benign dioramas and the traps did not recognize it as one with permission but had no ill intent to harm. In this case, Harry was currently in the diorama of Treegarth, the forest of Isengard from the Tolkien Fantasy Book. The forest was lush with greenery with the signature tower of Orthanc visible in the distance, the black marble reflecting off the evening sun from its surface. With a thought, Harry flashed to the tower where he found the Ent Guardians surrounding the suspected intruder.

"Hello there, Treebeard." Harry called out to the lead guardian of the diorama. The Ent in question turned to him while holding the intruder in his hand, his eyes glittering with light as he looked down.

"Good evening, Young Harry." The Ent answered in the deep booming voice that Harry imagined him to have based on the books, one with a low tone and currently with a tinge of wariness. "It seems we have our first… visitor here. Hrum~" Harry nodded while looking at the intruder in question.

**"******Erm, hi there?"**** The representation of the Sorting Hat greeted in a lame tone, clearly out of its depths from the suddenness of the trap. It was interesting to Harry considering this is the first time anyone had tried to enter his mind without permission; the only other person who Harry allowed to walk through his mind was his guardian Lord Thornwood, who still looked the same as he did in the real world. In this case, the Sorting Hat was represented as a figure that was a cross between a scare-crow and a mannequin damaged by time, with a somewhat cartoon-ish version of its real self on the head. **"******Mind letting me go?"****

"That depends." Harry answered while looking at the figure. "Do I have your guarantee that whatever we discuss and what I have to show you for the sorting is kept secret?"

****"The spells holding me together prevent me from telling of what I find in a student's mind aside from such things like if they are friendly or optimistic people and stuff like that. Even if the headmaster demands it, he won't get words from me. The only time I might say a word about a student is if said student places the school in genuine danger or student has an idea that they cannot convey without breaking oaths."**** Harry nodded in reply.

"Regardless, I will need a magical oath from you. The fact that you can be controlled by a compulsion means you can be susceptible, and I can't afford to have the headmaster on my case more than required. And I really do not want to have to burn you to ashes in the event you do tell someone." Harry paused for a moment. "I'm sorry but I can't keep referring to you as hat. Do you have a name?" The avatar paused for a moment while the other Ents gathered around them.

****"No one has asked that in a long time, not even the headmaster bothered to do that. Godric referred to me as Alistair after a friend who helped with the building of Hogwarts, but Rowena always called me Floppy just to piss me off. I would personally prefer the former if you don't mind. As for your oath, I understand your worries, so I will give it."**** The avatar recited a standard binding vow while Harry had raised an eyebrow at the hat's words and actions.

"Did you have a lot of contact with Rowena Ravenclaw?" Harry asked curiously. There were very few records on the witch, so a sentient artefact around the time of the Founders with information on it would be a valuable witness.

****"Indeed. When the founders created me, they pooled together their magic and wisdom to impart a small portion of their personalities along with their memories. You could say that I am an entity made up of the four."**** Alistair answered as Treebeard lowered it / him to the ground, satisfied that he meant no harm to Harry. **"******Rowena was more private with her contributions if you would, she would place me on her head and spend hours sorting through all the information. Ah~ those were the good old days."****

"And now?" That brought a snort from the hat avatar.

**"******I am an old hat that gets set on the heads of eleven-year-old once a year and gets shoved onto a shelf in the headmaster's office the rest of the time. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. I am bored and seem to have picked up some of the inquisitive nature of those I've touched over the centuries. I want to read books and see the outside damn it!"**** Alistair got rather impassioned there at the end with the whole clenched fists and loud declaration. That was when Harry got the metaphorical light bulb lit in his thoughts.

**"******Whoa! Too bright!"****

"Whoops." Harry sheepishly banished the light bulb while the Ents chuckled in their deep tones. "Sorry about that, but I might have an idea for an exchange or a deal if you would?" The avatar raised an eyebrow while tilting his head.

"As you can imagine, my mindscape allows me to store my memories differently, including whatever books I have read and locations I have been to, perfectly memorised and rendered for interaction. In exchange for viewing them, could you inform me of any hare-brained schemes involving me you become aware of? Chances are good that you might get a fair number from the headmaster in his office." Alistair looked at him, or at least its featureless face did. That would take some getting used to, like perhaps a few weeks. After a while Alistair chuckled in a manner that found the situation he was in very funny.

****"You know how to drive a bargain, young lad. All right, it is a deal. I can ask one of the house-elves to take me there. I will see you tonight wherever you end up."**** Alistair brought forth his hand towards Harry who grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. Stepping back a bit, Harry summoned one of his 'keys' that was in the form of an odd-shaped blade with etchings and bumps. Gripping the handle, he held it in the air briefly before twisting the handle, giving the impression of him opening a door in mid-air. The blade itself stayed in place while shifting its form before stopping with a loud click and a crimson beam of light appearing before the two. It then split to create a portal for them to walk through, with Harry leading the way.

**"******Oh my."**** Alistair looked at the new area they were in. Where they were once in a forest with Ent Guardians, this was now an unusual cavern with orbs of light floating about them, the dark marble upon which the two stood reflecting the glow from them and giving the cavern a rather holistic atmosphere. **"******This is quite the mindscape. That was a shortcut you did if I am not mistaken?"****

"You can think of it that way." Harry gestured with a hand to the crystal lake that shimmered with a light of its own. "Here we go, Alistair. This lake represents most of my memories." Harry looked at Alistair who leaned forward to examine the lake. "The more important bits I have to lock it up for safe keeping."

****"I understand, Mister Potter. You do need to protect some of your thoughts."**** The avatar straightened himself up and looked to Harry. **"******So how do I view them? I wish not to disturb any other security traps around."**** Harry sighed knowing his nervousness. With that in mind, Harry stepped up beside Alistair and brought him to a dais that he conjured up for this occasion. Made out of solid crystals, it was roughly up to his chest height and with a miniature book laying on top of the crystal mantle decorated with small wings at the side.

"You may place your hand on this. It should grant you temporary access to my memories." Harry stated while turning to Alistair. "I will of course be keeping watch, just in case." The avatar tilted his head at his words.

**"******Are you per chance related to an Alastor Moody?"**** The avatar asked curiously.

"I do not know who that is, so no." Harry quirked an eyebrow at that question.

**"******Thought you might be, the level of caution you have been displaying reminds me of him for some reason."**** Alistair shrugged before stepping up and placing his hand on it. Harry crossed his arms and watched at the book glowed along with the lake.

_'___Time for the waiting game.'__

~ooOOoo~

The staff and the students were staring at the Sorting Hat that still sat on the head of the boy-who-lived. It had been ten minutes worth of silence since the initial scream of surprise, something the older students were telling their juniors that it was a first. Just as the students were starting to get restless, an odd rasping sound resounded in the hall. The folks looked around for the source, unsettled by the manner it was done, then as one turned to the Sorting Hat that was shaking on Harry Potter's head. As though to confirm their suspicions, it drew itself straight and let out a bellowing laugh that sounded creepy to a good many while making a few perked their ears in anticipation, particularly a pair of red-haired twins who sprouted mischievous smiles for recognizing the laughing. This wasn't a deep belly aching laugh of a very amusing joke. Oh no, this was the sort of laugh you'd get when you realized someone else's day was about to get a hundred times worse and you had the best seat in the house to watching a lot of plans come crumbling down their head!

**"******Oh, this is so~ going to be good!"**** The Sorting Hat let out a chuckle as everyone waited for the verdict. ****"I think I know which house to sort you into. You have more than enough bravery for Gryffindor, your loyalty is without question, you are a very intelligent individual who values knowledge and you have enough deviousness ********and cunning ********for Slytherin. However, there are two traits combined in you that I feel define you ********the best, especially with all that you have experienced, young lad."**** Everyone leaned forward to hear its decision.

**"******Yes, you will do very well in the house… of ******__**Ravenclaw**__******!"****

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Hi to all, I hope you are enjoying this story. I am thankful for all the reviews that have been coming in thus far.

There have been a couple of reviewers who wrote about the un-childlike behaviors displayed by Parvati or Harry. While I have updated the chapter, I thank you guys for pointing it out. For one, it was actually one of my older versions that I uploaded by accident, and the second, it has been many years since I have been a kid, and I am trying to recall how I used to be as a kid. While I do want to present Harry as more mature compared to the others due to his upbringing, I will try to get him to be a kid of sorts.

As you can imagine from the chapters, there will be a few changes going on. Whether they will be significant in the future is up for grabs.

Until next time, I put my pen down for now...


	9. Book 1-08

**Disclaimer:**

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

* * *

**Title:** Book 1, Chapter 8

**Posted Date:** November 30 2020

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**_"BRRRRIRIIIINNNGGG!"_**

'Slap!'

Harry let out a yawn crossed with a grunt as he released the button on the alarm clock before raising his head from the pillow it was resting on. For a brief moment, he was a bit disorientated and immediately thought that he was kidnapped until he recalled he was now in the Ravenclaw's dormitory and in his own private room. There was also the fact that his personal protection charms did not register any intruders during the night that calmed him down.

Turning his head to look at the mechanical clock he had modified for the area, Harry found he had at least an hour before he and his fellow first years were due to be awake, and another half-hour to gather at the common room. With that, Harry sat himself up and stretched his arms out, wincing at the light popping of his joints, before dropping them and looking around his general placement while thinking about the night before.

After the sorting, Harry went to his assigned house table, amused at both the students at that table cheering loudly at his placement as though they had won the football cup, and the shocked expressions from the table sporting gold and red, with the pair of red-haired twins from the train saying "We did not get Potter?" with a tilt of their heads in the same direction. Hufflepuff gave their applause politely while Slytherin looked calculative, as though they were trying to figure him out.

Harry went to sit between to Padma and one Terry Boot and listened on to the sorting, noting how some of the staff members were still glancing at him while Filius Flitwick looked like he had won the lottery. (That was closer to the truth of sorts, he had a bet that Harry was going to make people wonder about his appearance and whatever surprises he had on that night, including the house he would be sorted to.) Harry had noted the number of missing prospective students when their names were called out, with Professor McGonagall stating they would follow up on them afterwards. There were a couple of names that Harry recalled belonged to certain families that certainly warranted attention, but one named Ronald Weasley seemed to be a mixed bag considering the reactions of the red-headed twins and the staff as opposed to a few of the darker aligned members, not to mention the old man's reaction when he tried to sneak a glance at him.

Harry chuckled to himself when the rude boy, whom he found out was Zacharias Smith, walked forward to the hat and sat down with the air of one believing he would go forth to be sorted and possibly lead the House of Hufflepuff he was supposedly destined to, only for Alistair to declare "SLYTHERIN!" in front of everyone in the hall with a rather forceful and somewhat gleeful tone. That got the boy throw a tantrum in front of everyone until Professor McGonagall ordered him to go to the house table, her lips thinning to a faint line. The hook-nosed man dressed in dark robes looked like he had swallowed a lemon whole while Dumbledore looked tempted to place a palm to his face. Harry was just barely controlling his smirk as he clapped 'politely' for Smith who directed a glare at him while stomping towards Slytherin as though it was Harry's fault for getting him into Slytherin.

It was not like he asked Alistair to put him in there, it was the hat's idea. It was also not just because of his memories that displayed the boy's behavior that made Alistair push him into that house instead of Hufflepuff.

Really.

After the last person, one Blaise Zabini, got sorted into Slytherin, the headmaster opened up the feast, allowing Harry to eat while politely answering and refusing questions and checking his food for potions before eating them with his personal utensils. When asked on that, he gave the excuse that he had to deal with people sending him poisoned food items, thus having the habit of checking everything before eating. He did point out that some of the items and their utensils had traces of something so they should be a bit wary, while he partook on most of the vegetables since he was not used to all the heavy items on the table. It was a testament to his mental training that he kept control of his emotions displaying on his face from some of the more invasive questions asked by the students and the bit of someone trying to force into his mind. At one point he got a little impatient and shut the mental gantries with a bit more force than required, interestingly a squeamish man with a turban bent forward with a wince as though he got hit at the back of the head while the hook-nosed man raised an eyebrow at him and glanced at Harry briefly before returning to the conversation.

After the feast there were the announcements made for the year, some that surprised a few of the pure-bloods and made a few new-bloods very happy at the promise of having regular mundane subjects now being taught along with a side-class that involved etiquette and culture of the Magical World. A few of the first years turned to look at Harry at that, to which he nodded to let them see the book he had shown to Hermione later. The last announcement made Harry rolled his eyes at the delivery. Honestly, telling a bunch of kids that the third-floor corridor was strictly off-limits for those not wanting 'a most painful death' in a tone that screamed challenging was practically placing a target board on it and waving a damn red flag in front of them to charge like bulls. Based on the limited interactions and stories, odds were good that by the end of the month, a good number of the Gryffindors and some of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins would be trying their hand to see what was so important about the place. Heck, just by a glance told Harry that at least ten Gryffindors were going to explore by the end of the coming week.

Harry also did not miss the glare Filius directed at the headmaster nor the cautionary glance at Harry on that manner. He would need to talk with the professor on that.

After a bout of singing that made Harry's ears want to weep in blood, they were sent off to their dormitories, with Ravenclaw located at one of the towers and the door guarded by an eagle knocker that would only grant entry if one could answer its riddles, which the prefect warned would increase in difficulty as time passed to ensure no one could guess their way in (although Harry had to question the security if one outside of Ravenclaw could enter upon the correct answer). Once they went in, they briefly gathered at the common area where the prefects talked about the general area and rules before directing him and the boys up a flight of stairs to where they would be staying for the year at the least, with the ladies heading in the opposite direction up another set of stairs. Evidently, Ravenclaws and Slytherins have private rooms split into year groups, with the first years sharing the corridor with the second years for easier communication. It was so that the students would have somewhere private to study without the noise interrupting them, although they had to share a common bathroom split by gender. Harry was just grateful that everyone was too tired to pester him with questions and went into his assigned room quickly.

Harry did frown at the small being that laid petrified on the floor next to the dummy trunk he had set aside for moving into Hogwarts, his real trunk having been shrunk and kept in his bottomless pouch for the duration. Harry had seen and talked to a couple of house-elves when he first entered the Wizarding World, so he was aware that they were bound to people or buildings with ley-lines around. The fact that it was stunned meant the elf had attempted to break entry into the trunk rather than just moving the item. He had levitated the stunned being out of his room and near the corner that would not impede others while allowing others to see it in case someone wanted to find it. After a bit of moving (not that it was hard, the room only had a table, a bed and a small window), some protection set-up, and some light reading, Harry finally had his first guest in the form of Alistair arriving via house-elf express. The two talked a little on how the arrangement would be done before Harry laid down and placed the hat on his head to allow him to access his mind while he entered a pseudo trance state to keep his body rested.

Speaking of said hat...

"Good morning, lad." Alistair greeted him from the cabinet next to the bed. "You are up early; classes are normally later for the first day."

"Good morning to you too, Alistair." Harry replied back as he swung his legs over. "I tend to wake up early in the mornings for some exercise, and I wanted to set the room up a little better before washing up."

"By that, you are referring to the security?" The Sorting Hat gave a very good impression of a raised eyebrow. "I could not help noticing the wards around the room and your bed. Quite different from what I know."

"I tried combining what I have learned with a few original spells." Harry pulled out his pouch, reached inside to grab his real trunk and bring it back to its original size, opening it up to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Figured I should do that, considering that one elf tried to access my trunk last night even if it was a dummy trunk."

"It would seem that Albus has started his actions early." Alistair commented. "Then again, he has been trying to get information about you for a while now."

"Is that so?" Harry paused to look at the hat.

"Oh yes." Alistair bowed the tip as though to demonstrate nodding its head. "I am not sure what it is that you or your new guardian have done, but Albus had been complaining about blood wards failing roughly three to four years ago, followed by your first interview and something about Gringotts. He has been trying to regain control of sorts but have been prevented from doing so, not to mention multiple warnings to return the items he had evidently procured from your family."

"So, he did have something to do with those." A frown appeared on Harry's face as he considered that bit of news. "I don't suppose you know any other plans of his?"

"Sorry lad, he keeps secrets close to his chest." Alistair dashed Harry's hopes. "Many a time people hoped to learn something from Albus, but he would insist that it was safer for him to be the only one to hold the secrets and that they should trust his words, merely giving out half-truths and small morsels to placate their questions if pressed. He does however talk a bit in his office alone, he forgets that I am there at times." Harry sighed at that answer. It would appear that whatever information he hoped to get would have to be obtained indirectly, otherwise with more direct force.

Something he would leave for the adults on his side.

"Right then, I will consider that later." Harry shrugged at that. "What do you know about the Third Floor that Dumbledore wants us to avoid 'a most painful death'?"

"Technically I am not supposed to tell you, then again I tend to ramble a lot without knowing." Alistair really knew how to make his words sound so nonchalant and sarcastic at the same time. "He claims to be protecting an object for a friend that was reportedly stolen recently from the bank, all behind 'special protections' to deter the intruder." Harry could hear the quotation marks and eye-rolling action when the hat emphasized on the words. "What he really wants to happen is to draw the attention of the person trying to steal it and to somehow get you involved in the mix. I do not know to what end though; my best guess is that he wishes to create a situation where you are to have a confrontation with the person and to see what strengths and weaknesses you have, before portraying himself as your savior of sorts."

"... That sounds like something from a typical crime novel. I am not sure how to feel on that." Harry shook his head at the logic.

"Can't help you on that part. What I can say is that Hogwarts is not happy and would like the object taken out of her soon." Alistair gave the impression that he was shrugging with the manner the hat was moving. Harry perked up at that remark.

"So Hogwarts is sentient, if not having an actual soul?" Harry asked. "I have always wondered about that."

"Oh you are definitely sorted in the right house." Alistair teased lightly before continuing. "But if you don't mind, I would like to keep that a secret for now. You may consider Hogwarts to have some sentience to know that the situation has gotten quite bad so I do not mind helping you out on this venture." Harry let out a thoughtful humming at that before nodding. He would give it some thoughts later, he was only curious about it from the books and history he had read up.

"What is the object that Dumbledore is hiding?"

"That... I wish to keep quiet for now." Alistair continued without giving Harry a chance to speak. "It is not like I don't want to tell you. But the walls have ears and you are only just starting despite what I have seen in your mind. And while I have a good idea of your character, I need to be certain that you are not going to be tempted. What I can tell you is that the item in question has been sought after for a few centuries now, and can be dangerous in the wrong hands."

"I understand. I won't force you." Harry let out a heavy sigh. "I don't like it, but I can at least try to search for answers my own way."

"Typical of a Ravenclaw." Alistair cheekily added to which Harry snorted. "You have best to wash up, the bathrooms may be big, but mornings tend to get very rushed around here."

"Thank you for the advice and the warning." Harry got to the door and paused to turn. "Would I expect you tonight or other times?"

"Perhaps we can try out an odd-day meet-up?" Alistair sounded cheerful at the idea of meeting with Harry again. "Besides, I get the feeling Albus would want to keep an eye on you to the point he might notice my disappearance. Staggering the times should grant us some leeway."

"That should be okay. Until then..." Harry bowed his head to the hat which responded with a bow of its tip before it disappeared with a soft 'pop'. Harry took a moment to consider creating a ward to alert him of incoming and outgoing elf travels before heading out of the door to wash up. After that Harry proceeded to add the proper security that he wanted to secure his room, such as intent-based wards and spell-based wards to detect and throw out people trying to force their way in. Much of it were scaled-down versions he had implemented for those back in Little Whinging, so Harry was fairly confident that they could at least hold back majority of wizards and witches coming through, but he would need to think about the elf magic since he had nothing to base on and how to block them if necessary.

It took roughly 20 minutes for him to set all the protections up and update his dummy trunk to hold some of his necessities, then Harry went about lightly preparing the room with items that he had modified for use in the magic-rich environment, after which he did some light exercises to wake himself up for the morning. Until he could find his rhythm and a place to do his regular exercise, a few push-ups and crunches would have to do, perhaps some weight-lifting too if he could manage it. After that minor exercise, Harry cleaned himself off with some cleansing alcohol and charms before making his way down to the common room, taking a chair by the fireplace and started to do a bit of his math homework that he hoped to finish quickly for evaluation. While Filius had told him that they could now do muggle subjects and send them off without issues, Harry was making sure that his own coursework did not get 'accidentally misplaced' or 'restricted'. He even had his own private Gringotts approved mail box that allowed for easy transfer of bulky items and documents without the hassle of owls or risk of interception.

Harry was about to finish up on the homework when a couple of the other first years came down the stairs.

"Morning Harry." Padma greeted him as she came to his side and looked at the papers in front of her. "Hard at work I see, but what is this? Is it like the one you showed me?"

"Good morning, Padma. As for this, Mathematics." Harry greeted her in return while straightening his back. "I am trying to finish up on some of the mundane work I have since I am now here."

"Why would you be doing them?" Padma asked as she took a seat opposite and glanced at the mathematical book with interest. Harry merely pushed the book towards her in a silent acknowledgement which she nodded her thanks and went to look at its contents.

"Before I got the letter from Hogwarts, I was already studying in multiple subjects to get into a good middle school. I had been granted a few scholarships in the process and had been undergoing a few tests to test on my level." Harry explained as he started to gather up some of his books. "I was allowed to study ahead and be granted a chance to skip a grade when I was about to graduate."

"I see." Padma bit her lips lightly as she looked at the mathematical formulas in an attempt to understand them. "But you would be coming here for your magical education."

"Perhaps, but previously I did not know much about magic from my mundane relatives early on, so I was more focused on the mundane education." Harry looked through his homework and nodded before keeping them in his bag. "And when I did learn about it, I was already in an accelerated program to deal with additional subjects. This is a bit of leftover to be completed before the end of the year. Even then, I was not sure about coming to Hogwarts."

"But would it not be a given to come here?" The two turned to find Lisa and an Asian girl standing near them. "Good morning, sorry for listening in. I was curious about the books myself and I ended up overhearing the conversation."

"No problem, Miss Turpin." Harry nodded before looking to the other girl. "Good morning to you too, Miss Li?"

"Su Li, at your service." The Asian girl greeted with a smile. She was a petite young girl of likely Chinese background with short bob dark hair with a complexion that suggested her time under the sun. "Nice to meet you Mister Evans, or is it Potter?"

"I suppose now that the secret is out, Harry would be the case." Harry shrugged.

"So, about that question I asked?" Lisa asked as the two girls came closer. "Is it because of the incident with Dumbledore? The newspaper is still going on about it now and then. Of course, you do not need to answer that."

"Partially." Harry let out a minor sigh. "I won't say all what with pending investigations going on, but contrary to what people keep repeating in books or rumours, we are not best friends. Dumbledore has done some questionable actions that are painting a very different picture than what he is normally portrayed, and with some investigating, I do not believe it is a coincidence that I have been sent to my mundane relatives."

"As for your other question on my magical schooling, my name had been added to the roster by my parents when I was born, and it being magically binding, I am obliged to attend Hogwarts for at least a year before I can consider switching schools."

"But would you switch schools?" Padma lowered the book to look at him. "I mean, isn't Hogwarts one of the best in the world?"

"It is currently the best in Europe, I will give you that much." Harry nodded. "This was briefly told in the papers, but while it is the best in Europe, it is barely hanging on to its position when compared to the other schools in the general region due to the high grades in the core subjects. Outside of the European sector, the education levels at the major academies are very different. They are held at a much higher and stricter level compared to Hogwarts, set to actual ICW standards and the recent EUM education standards."

"EUM?" Su asked. Harry briefly noted the small group of first years that had gathered along with a few of second years around them when he answered.

"It stands for European Union of Magic. It was started around 1970s by the different ministries in the European sector, so it is not as well-known as the ICW." Harry went through his bag to find the document and pulled it out for them to view. "It is part of a joint initiation by the ICW and the various countries to help compartmentalize the different departments and to reduce the amount of communication between the sectors. The EUM handles other areas, but you can think of it as a branch off the ICW Education Department, meant to monitor the education levels of all the academies in Europe."

"So, this branch is meant to monitor Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang?" One of the bystanders asked, making the three girls jump slightly from the intrusion, not aware of the audience around them, with a few of the upper years having joined as well to see what was going on.

"Them and the other academies in Europe." Harry replied. "The EUM compiles the data from all the academies and report to the ICW on their standards. After which the results are compared with those from other countries. This is why our education level is severely lower than our counterparts."

"I have gone to ask from the Department of Education when that article came about." One of the other seniors had commented. "It is actually on public records, and with the recent issue, they placed the scores on other schools as well. If anything, Mister Potter is understating the issue."

"That is one way of putting it, which is partially why there is the inclusion of the mundane subjects being taught to us. Those are important to help out in the modern Britain and elsewhere in the world. I am not sure on the current state of the magic subjects, supposedly they are to be updated by now, but do not just take my word or others on face value." Harry continued talking. "Research on other areas, find information from other sources aside from the known publishers. Get it all and look them through, consider all routes before making a decision."

"Correct." Everyone turned to find Filius Flitwick beaming at them at the table. "This is what it means to be researchers. One does not simply look through books and listen to unsubstantiated rumors to get a conclusion, you have to go through all sources and make your decision then. Although I can safely say that Harry is correct regarding the issues facing us this year, if not a touch understated."

"Good morning, Professor." A Prefect named Penelope Clearwater greeted him, followed shortly by everyone in the room.

"Thank you, it is so nice to see my Ravens up and about ready for learning." Flitwick looked at them with a big smile. "Now that you are all here, I do not need to use my spells to project my voice."

"First and foremost, to all the new comers, welcome to Ravenclaw! To the years before them, welcome back!" The others cheered at the greeting. "I wish to inform you on a few things that you will need to know before starting life at Hogwarts. I am sure that Professor McGonagall has informed you last night about the house point system. I expect all of my Ravenclaws to show proper behaviour towards their teachers. If there is a difference in opinion with one teacher or an argument, you will tell me and we will work on a solution together after the class. I will be handing out your class schedules momentarily so that I do not need to disrupt your breakfast. To the first years, I will also be including a map to help you find your classrooms and the hall. To the elected prefects, please help out the first years for the first week to navigate Hogwarts. I do not want a repeat of 1986, thank you very much." Harry raised an eyebrow at that statement and at a couple of the older students blushing with embarrassment with a few others chuckling.

"You have just heard from Mister Potter regarding the education of Hogwarts, and possibly have read about the incoming inspection from the Ministry. Let me clarify your doubts right now so that no one has the wrong perception on it. Please listen very carefully." Filius looked at them with a stern look. "There is a commission being brought together to inspect Hogwarts based on her education standards, environment and overall safety. This, in my personal opinion, is something that has been long overdue and desperately needed if we are to maintain our standing as one of the best. This is also why we are now having muggle subjects being taught this year as part of an experiment to see if this can work out, since plenty had asked for the subjects for their learning in the mundane world."

"Now because of the education standards being brought to light and the commission coming in to check on us, some of the changes being introduced are already implemented while others are slow going if not delayed. I have received some comments on my subject before, but this time I would need your help." The older students straightened up at that "I need you all to take notes on the lessons you will be taking this year. I understand there have been complaints for many years now, but this time we could use those complaints to make good changes."

"However~" Flitwick held a stern eye at the older students who had a gleam in the eyes at his words. "I will emphasize that you stick to the truth, not because you do not like the teacher for what silly reasons, or use the chance to ask for frivolous items. I will be looking through each note you write to ensure they are proper. In the event there is something serious that needs further confirmation, I might need permission from your guardians to collect pensieve memories." Whispers and murmurs broke out at that with a few looking confused at the words. "For those who do not know what they are, it is essentially memories from your mind. You can ask those raised in the Wizarding World for more details, but for now, let's put it as getting copies from your memories for viewing."

"I hold monthly meetings for all the members of my house. Those meetings take half an hour and we can discuss problems, wishes for furthering your studies, your achievements for the house and other things that come up then. For the first years, you have your own rooms, this is a privilege that I hope you will not abuse. You may arrange your items whatever way provided you do not have anything illegal inside, just note that you may not have the same room in the coming years, so try not to leave anything permanent inside. There have been a few who do so in the past despite the warning." Filius look pointedly at a group of fifth years who looked away in embarrassment, one of them even whistling nervously.

"Aside from that, I have nothing else to add for the time being." Filius smiled as he held out pieces of parchment. "If you ever have problems that need to be resolved soon, my office is on this floor, when you leave the common room, turn right and go down the corridor, it is the last door before the staircase on the left. Here are your timetables. I believe that I have said enough, so without further ado." Filius raised his arms wide apart with a big smile. "Let's welcome the new year, shall we?"

"Yes, Professor Flitwick!"

~ooOOoo~

'_Thank god for Occlumency.'_ That was the thought of the day being repeated as a mantra in Harry's mind. Why you might ask?

The moment he entered the Great Hall, eyes were on him accompanied by whispers and pointed fingers. Harry restrained the urge to twitch his eyes as even a few of the older students from his own house who had arrived earlier were doing the same so blatantly. It was with great relief that Terry Boot was such a swell boy who proceeded to talk about everything he had laid his eyes on and what he thought about their future lessons. Padma and Su caught on to the subject and soon the four had a grand time talking about the lessons while eating breakfast, although Terry had briefly joked that Harry was acting like an agent checking his food and drink for poisons.

After a brief tour of the general area by the prefects, it was off to class with the Hufflepuffs for their first lesson in Herbology, where Harry greeted a slightly less nervous Neville and where Professor Sprout laid out the lesson plans for the year. She gave a brief demonstration of the plants that they would be learning about, and the proper handling procedures. Harry was fascinated by all the plants they were seeing and possibly handling in the future, it had him hoping to get some tips and perhaps samples for his own use.

After that, they went to History of Magic with the Gryffindors, where he experienced the dubious novelty of a ghost teacher giving out a lecture on goblin wars. It would probably a good lesson if not for the ghost's droll manner of speaking that made it sound like he was at a funeral and making everyone take another nap. Harry ended up reading a little ahead and doing some of his own work on the sly while others were sleeping, not quite the right thing to do but he was safe to do that considering everyone else aside from Hermione was in Morpheus's embrace. He did make sure to bring a Dictation Quill to track the lecture in the future while he caught up on the other chapters or work, and briefly noted some additional observations to see if there was something to deal with the lesson before the observation crew from the Ministry came.

After an hour-long lunch period where Harry again demonstrated his usual paranoia of testing food and taking mostly vegetables (prompting Terry and a couple of first-gens to call him a Double-O agent with a diet), they had a lesson in Transfiguration with Hufflepuffs from which Harry got the introduction from the professor when the cat on the desk took a stance and jumped off it, morphing immediately into her human form. Harry mentally gave her points for performance as she gave a brief lecture on the difficulties of transfiguration and the dangers of abuse, along with a quick changing of her table into a pig. After taking copious notes on transfiguration, she gave them matchsticks as an attempt to apply what they have learned to change them to needles.

Harry took this chance to review what he had learned from his own testing and went to change the matchstick back and forth into a needle, and then applied imagination to change the design to test his limits. Professor McGonagall saw that and asked that he tried to do the same with more matchsticks, giving him a chance to practice more and ended up getting a bit carried away whereby he ended up creating four unique needles in the design of the Four Founders with silent casting. He also provided some assistance to those who asked, so by the end of the lesson everyone had some form of success in transforming their matchsticks to needles, even Neville who seemed to have issues with his magic for some reason. Harry ended up bagging a fair number of points for Ravenclaw in the process, which was nice.

Around late afternoon, Harry and the other students who were new-bloods, mundane-raised and the odd pure-blood who were curious, went to a chamber where they were introduced to a first-gen wizard who would be one of the teachers aiding them with their regular lessons and to provide a means for them to submit any work if required. Harry suppressed a grin as he noted the boxes provided by Gringotts to send their work and material, at least that was one venue he did not need to worry about. Said wizard also helped to explain more on the foundation named in his mother's honour, with a good many of the prospective students looking relieved for the additional protection that they evidently needed in the magical world, or shocked at how much of a bad hand they were dealt with.

Harry got the feeling that his foundation was going to get a lot of requests for follow-ups and possible coursework to continue their muggle studies. He should send a letter to his manager on a possible avenue source.

And throughout the day, Harry had to deal with so many people looking at him and gossiping on the oddest of details regarding him. Was it really that big of a deal that he ate a lot of vegetables just because he wanted to have a proper diet aside from the heavy meats even if they were ideal for replenishing the energy expanded; that his scar was gone from early on, or the fact that he did not need to wear glasses made it so newsworthy? Harry was so glad that he had found this out in his early childhood and got someone to help him out with the blasted books, because this was ridiculous!

And if that was not enough, in the evening Harry ended up fielding questions to the others for their ice-breaker session. Thankfully for his diminishing patience Terry and Padma helped to act as a barrier enough for him to answer some of the less invasive questions, while politely and firmly refusing those particular ones. Su and Lisa were understanding along with Morag McDougal, while Michael Corner was on the fence for the moment. Anthony Goldstein on the other hand seemed wanting to pick a fight with the manner he kept pushing for more information from Harry and the others while withholding his own, all while accusing Harry of the same deal.

Quite hypocritical of the boy indeed.

It was with a great sense of relief that he got back to his sanctuary in his room, even if he had to deal with another petrified house-elf next to his trunk. He may have to consider telling Professor Flitwick about this if it continued for a week, but the main issue would be obtaining proof of the house elves trying to intrude on his privacy. The one silver lining at this point was his ward system was able to obtain readings of elf magic in its presence, or at least one involving that teleportation ability they used to get into his room and perhaps the attempts to get into the trunk. With any luck and some reading, Harry would be able to create a ward against elves unless they proved their worth.

There was also one bright point that Harry got to enjoy when he returned to his room and found his post-box glowing. Aside from the usual reports, there was one hand-written letter from one Andromeda Tonks who was evidently one of the few family relations he had left alive in Magical Britain. He first got into contact with her after the goblins got the cruse-breakers to remove whatever spells that had remained on him along with the remnants of the old wards around his town, and alter the mail direction wards that prevented him from getting their statements. The woman had been trying to find him for the past few years but had trouble due to interference from Dumbledore who refused to give her the address on grounds of 'protecting Harry's safety' from her family, which the goblins and solicitor helped to point out that the old man used her unfortunate association to a well-known Death Eater to do so. When the article came about from his first interview, she tried again and succeeded in contacting him. From there onwards, they had exchanged a few letters to get to know each other and at one point he got a chance to meet her with his new guardian.

For that evening, she was asking how was his first day at Hogwarts and the sorting. Harry took the time to write to her and his guardian about the day he had and the interactions, relishing the fact that he had an actual relation to write to, someone who would not be snide or be mad for his abilities. He had paused briefly before writing in his views on certain students that he had interacted, knowing that the two adults had interactions with different parents that worked at the Ministry and hoped to get some insight before making his decision about them. While he believed in his own interactions, it could not hurt to have an outside perspective. After that he sent them off with the box while writing a different letter for Hedwig to send off to play the illusion that he did not have the security box.

This was just the first day of the term and Harry was already stressing out from all the attention. He did not want to consider what would be the rest of the week, let alone the year.

~ooOOoo~

Harry had to admit, the wait was nerve-wrecking.

The next two days had passed by without much of an issue, aside from a bit of excitement from Professor Sinistra who was swooning over the modern telescope that Harry had chosen to use for his Astronomy subject instead of the old brass telescope that was supposed to be brought. She had heard about the advancements from past students, but Harry was the first to bring one to her class and she enjoyed being able to see the solar system in such detail. Harry ended up netting quite a few points when demonstrating the telescope and letting her use it for private use, while at the same time giving the address and possible models to the others to look for alternatives.

(For some odd reason, when the older students heard her asking him to visit with the telescope, a few of the males kept patting his back with either a proud or jealous expression, while the female students kept fussing over him and his clothes or teased him about her. Harry got the feeling he was at the butt-end of a joke given how the female students giggled while messing with his hair.)

On Thursday morning, the Ravens arrived at the dungeon where they were to have their first Potions class with the Badgers. Harry had prepared as much as he could for this, not an easy feat given what he had heard about the man who taught the subject from various sources; all the horror stories of the man ruling the dungeons with an iron fist, his apparent bias to those outside of his own house and the terror he invoked in others. Poor Neville looked absolutely terrified at the prospect that Professor Sprout had to grant him a Calming Draught just to keep his nerves together. Harry did make sure to be as prepared as possible by reading through and memorizing the first-year potions book along with key phrases that might come up, and a couple of the supplementary books he had obtained from Innovatio Alley or his favorite John Doe. Considering how the others were looking at his books when he showed them what to look out for, Harry had the feeling the bookstores would be getting a fair bit of business in the coming weeks.

Finally, the potions lesson came about and the students entered the dungeon with a bit of dread, not helped with the dark shadows or the coldness of the room. It was certainly effective to quell the children into submission, making them stay quiet out of paranoia. Harry admitted to being startled when the door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang, revealing Severus Snape in his domain as he appeared to glide into the room like some demonic ghost. A few of the others barely managed to stifle their squeaking as the man turned around at the front, looking upon them in a manner that promised pain, his gaze lingering on Harry a few seconds before continuing. He proceeded to take the roll-call, pausing rather dramatically at his name.

"Ah yes, Mister Potter. Our… New …Celebrity." The manner in which he spoke those words with a hint of venom sent chills down the spines of most of the students, a few of them mentally pitying Harry for attracting the man's attention so early on. Harry didn't react though, he was used to worse from the Dursleys, their proxies, or the few wizards he had encountered upon his entry into Magical Britain. After Snape completed the roll-call, he set the scroll down on his desk and looked at them with a very impassive face.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began to speak in barely more than a whisper, but like Professor McGonagall he had the gift to keep a class silent without effort, only his delivery was done in a very cold manner that drove the imaginations of the children to very dark ideas. "As there is little need for foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe that this is magic. I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses." The man looked at them as he continued with his words, the manner in which he delivered keeping them entrapped despite the nervousness in them. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – as long as you aren't a bunch of dunderheads that I normally have to teach."

More silence followed the little speech, no one seemingly breathing at that point. Harry had long since mastered the art of noting down the important points of lectures teachers gave, his hand flying across the notebook that he had as he listened to Snape.

"Potter." Snape said suddenly, making a number of the students jump in their seats. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry made sure to place his pen down before looking at the professor.

"Powdered root of asphodel is a core ingredient in most if not all sleeping draughts and some skin products, sir. In combination with an infusion of wormwood that can, depending on the concentration of the wormwood infusion and the other ingredients of the potion, either make the Draught of Living Death or the Elixir of Clairvoyance. The first one is the most powerful known sleeping potion that places the drinker into a deep sleep that resembled suspended animation, based on the Greek legends that depict the plant's connection to the dead and the underworld; the second one is used to test potential seers by inducing a powerful trance-like state to clear the mind and to connect with the magic." Harry answered firmly. "If one cannot get the powered root, you could try the fermented seeds but you need to be careful with the alcohol content as it could lower if not ruin the potency."

"Correct, Potter. Let's see if you are as well-prepared as you appear to be. Where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?" Snape asked without pause, sounding slightly impressed despite his clear reluctance. Undoubtedly, he had only wanted to know about the Draught of Living Death since that was more common than the elixir, not to mention hoping to hear him fail that question.

"Ideally, it would be found in every basic potion kit. But since that recommendation has not been accepted by many schools around the world, a bezoar is a stone that can be found in the stomach of a goat and will protect you against most poisons, ideally a mountain goat due to the environment it was bred in. A bezoar can also be found in cows, humans and even chimeras. Although the one found in humans is only recommended for the originator." Harry said.

"An explanation for the bit on the human version?" Snape came closer, the dark clothes seemingly blending in to the shadows and making him look wanting to loom over Harry, causing a few around Harry to move their chairs away instinctively. While the professor's expression remained closed, his eyes seemed to be glittering slightly.

"Bezoars found in humans are normally the gall-stones, which are already quite problematic for the body to begin with since that means the kidney is damaged. Adding to the complication, the life essence of humans, particularly that of wizards and witches, would infuse the bezoar with its own unique signature. This makes it potentially poisonous as the magic from the stone would conflict with the person ingesting it. Hence it might be better for it to be used by the person it originated from to avoid complications, or at least the closest relation." Harry explained while the others around him started to write down notes at the wellspring of information. At this point, Snape was right in front of his desk and looking at him intensely.

"A little more detailed than expected, but correct no less. Bonus question, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfs-bane?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry hummed as he briefly closed his eyes to recall the information on the question.

"For those starting in botany, the names are used for the plant that is more commonly known as aconite, normally found in the areas around mountains in the Northern Hemisphere. The difference would be the parts of aconite from which they are named for. Monkshood refers to the blue blossoms that are shaped like the hood of the medieval monk, similar to that of the Hufflepuff ghost if you want a reference. Wolfs-bane refers to the juice or sap of the plant, normally used in the old days by shepherds to bait and kill wolves using tainted meat with aconite. Coincidentally, it is the wolfs-bane that is currently being used as an ingredient in an experimental potion to help those inflicted with Lycanthropy tame or suppress the wolf aspect during the full moon. Despite the potion's name, it is not the primary ingredient." Harry steadily answered the question. A few of his classmates looked at him with open mouths at the lengthy answer while Snape looked at him steadily before giving a slow nod.

"Very detailed. Now please let your classmates know where you found that extensive amount of information, Mister Potter." Snape said, sounding grudgingly impressed and a touch curious.

"In order of the questions, the Draught of Living Death can be found in our textbook twice. First in the introduction to warn us of possible abuse, the second time is the chapter that talks on the actual making. Bezoar can be found in two books ideal for those interested in potion-making, they are 'Brewing Techniques' and 'Potion Ingredients 101'. They can be found in specialized book stores recommended by the apothecaries in the side alley, or you could order them through Gringotts as they had to get them through retailers and vet them. For the aconite and asphodel, they can be found in '1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi' at Flourish and Blotts, but if you want to know about the plant properties in more detail, you should consider getting one of the botany books from the mundane side as they contain more in-depth history and information on the plants." Harry answered for the benefit of the others. "As for the last question for the two parts of the plant in the potions making, it is noted to be in the advanced level, so we would likely learn more around fifth year but you can read about them within reason. They are considered a B-ranked restricted ingredient for a reason."

"Very informative… Why aren't some of you writing this down?" Snape asked dangerously, prompting those who had not written anything grabbing their quills and scribbling as much as they could before getting punished. The man turned back to Harry and looked at him with an expression that was a mixture of wariness, curiosity and a touch of melancholy, which was at least a bit better than the concealed hostility directed at him earlier.

"Five points to Ravenclaw for proper preparation to the class and proving that one needs more than school textbooks to understand the subject." Snape then turned around and directed his wand at the blackboard to have the chalk flying across it to write the instructions. As it did, Snape proceeded to walk about the class and speak.

"As Mister Potter had correctly stated, Potions Masters from all over the world have been recommending to have a bezoar in the ingredient kit for emergency. It hasn't been made a requirement by the Board of Governors, despite my repeated attempts to do so, as well as the three books Mister Potter had just mentioned. If you want to have success in my class, I advise you to get them so that you can have a firm understanding on what's to come in the future lessons without blowing yourselves up. Now, you will all divide among yourselves into pairs and start brewing the potion described in chapter one, a very basic potion used for curing boils. The recipe is on the board, ingredients are in the student cupboard. You have until the end of class to see if you can handle the basics, begin." Snape said in a tone that dared them to say otherwise.

With that, the students got up and made their way to the cabinet, a few roughly pushing with shoulders to grab the ingredients while the others, mainly the girls, rolled their eyes at the action. Harry however remained in his seat to write down the recipe, making sure the important bits were noted before checking his equipment to ensure they were ready.

"Mister Potter." Harry lifted his head to find Snape looking at him with a keen eye. "Why are you still sitting here?"

"Since everyone is trying to grab the ingredients at once, I will take the time to write the instructions down and check my equipment first. Last thing I need is to have something explode on me because I read the instructions wrong or the cauldron is dirty." Harry answered truthfully, his time doing personal potions making back in Surrey came to mind.

Snape looked at him before giving a brief nod and moving off, indicating that he could move on to the cabinet to grab his ingredients. Harry took a little more time to check before getting up to grab his items, not noticing Snape looking at the notebook and nodding at his writing.

Harry ended up pairing with Neville, which may be a good thing given how nervous the poor boy was, not helped with Snape walking about the room and looming over the students, throwing out snide comments or criticizing their work. With Harry having thoroughly prepared as best as he could for the lesson and employing his Occlumency, Harry managed to coach the boy through the steps of brewing and explained the techniques that were used in hushed whispers. Harry even placed a barrier rune stone to avoid any sudden blowouts and arranged the ingredients in a manner that helped with the timing of when to place them in.

"Now this is the critical phase. Whenever you use porcupine quills in potions, always take the cauldron away from the fire, or it will explode in your face, Neville. I figured you don't fancy a stay in the hospital wing with quills in your face." He spoke firmly. Neville gulped deeply but proceeded to move the cauldron well away from the fire before adding the quills under Harry's supervision, pausing once when he nearly made a mistake which Harry stopped by grabbing his hand. Between the two of them, they managed to brew an acceptable potion with the correct consistency and potency. They filled their vials with it, labelled them and then took them to Snape's desk and placed them in the carrier meant for the vials, Harry using the hardened vials in case his got dropped 'by accident'. They returned to their workstation and began to clean up the equipment while Harry kept samples of the potion before removing the remainder from the cauldron. They were done just when the bell rang for the end of class.

"For those who have not completed the potion, I would suggest reading up on preparations to make sure you can fulfill the conditions next time. Homework will be twelve inches about the correct procedure of brewing boil cure potion and the critical phases of successfully making the potion. Those who failed from this, you will hand in another parchment on what you have done wrong." Snape's glare prevented any groans or objections. "You are dismissed. Potter, please stay for a moment." Harry wondered about the reason but mentally shrugged while assuring his classmates that he would be right after them. Harry did get his mind shields up and checked his protection runes before facing Snape. They spent a couple of minutes in total silence, trying to size each other up inwardly.

"You surprise me, Mister Potter." Snape broke the silence finally. "I have to admit, I feared you would be more like your father, whose looks you have inherited a little. Thankfully you have more of your mother inside, or at least her handling of potions. She was the only one I acknowledged to be my better."

"Thank you, sir. I do hope to reach her level of expertise when it comes to potions or charms." Harry nodded his thanks. "If I am understanding correctly sir, were you studying at the same time as my parents?" Snape looked a little uncomfortable at that question but nodded.

"Indeed, I had been sorted at the same time as your parents. While your father and I couldn't stand each other for private reasons, I was friends with your mother from the time we were children. I also knew your aunt Petunia. She was always kind of nasty to begin with when faced with our abilities, but when your mother first got her Hogwarts letter and she couldn't get here, Petunia began developing out of jealousy an irrational hatred of all things magic; she called Lily a freak before she started her first year, which sadly seems to have transferred to you from what I heard."

"Unfortunately, that is true. She definitely wanted to make sure I hear everything bad about my mother, like how she was a deadbeat drunk who died in a car crash." Harry crossed his arms as he recalled his aunt's favorite words.

"She said _what_ about Lily?" Snape growled like a feral animal while the shadows seemed to react to his magic and grew in size, giving the impression that a demon was about to be summoned. Harry kept a calm exterior while mentally preparing his spells for use.

"She said a lot of things, thankfully I did not put that much stock into her words." Harry tried to placate the professor. "I figured since she was not interested in seeing my progress, I would at least do it for my parents, even if at the time I was under the mistaken belief that they were drunks."

"I see." Snape took a deep breath to calm himself down, the shadows seemingly following his state and diminishing as a result. "Keep up your work and I might acknowledge that you aren't a dunderhead." Snape said it in a manner that supposedly should be an insult but evidently was his way of pushing his students further.

"I will, thank you sir." Harry paused before continuing softly. "If you don't mind, as you are the person who knew my mother longest, could you perhaps tell me a few stories about her? I have tried asking people about my parents but so far, the only one giving me an answer aside from the standard 'they are good parents', 'your father was a good man', or 'she is perfect for your father', is Professor Flitwick along with a couple of others. They are the only people willing to tell me their behavioral problems or quirks."

"We will see, Mister Potter. Now I believe you should be heading for lunch; I know Professor Flitwick has impressed upon all his Ravens how important good meals are for you." Snape answered. Harry nodded in answer before leaving the classroom and the professor to look at his back thoughtfully.

~ooOOoo~

A little over two weeks have passed in Hogwarts, and with that, enough time for the denizens of the castle to make their initial observations regarding one Harry James Potter Evans.

Firstly, the boy was rather talented with magic for one raised with muggles. He was able to master his spells within the first or second try when using his wand, and then he was able to push forth with his lessons using silent casting, a skill that many of the older students were impressed considering it was harder to do and mostly taught in the upper years. He replied that most of the supposed accidental magic displayed during childhood were silent casting, what one required was the intent and the image to do so. (That got a few of the seniors looking at their own wand in contemplation, and in the following weeks, a few had attempted to do so with mixed results.) His theory work was strong enough to help with essays which occasionally included examples for how spells could be used in areas not thought of. And to much confusion and shock, he was one of the rare few not of Slytherin House that Severus Snape, the Head of Slytherin House, Potions Master, 'Greasy Bat of The Dungeons', seemed to accept his potions and work properly. This was significant because the man was well known for his hatred against James Potter, so a few waited to see how he would deal with Harry Potter.

Secondly, Harry Potter was a very paranoid person, at least that was the impression many got when interacting with him during meals or certain lessons where he took a fair bit of precaution of checking his food and utensils or looking about the classroom. Word on the grapevine from the seniors of Ravenclaw spoke of his paranoia that extended to the protection of his room in the dorms, supposedly to knock out anyone that had ill-intent to break and steal. A few with ties to Aurors kept comparing him to Alastor Moody, but when Harry asked for more details on the Auror, all of them shuddered and begged off, saying something about the possible end of the world if the two met. Harry was half-tempted to write to the man to see who he was.

_(The staff who heard that shivered at the thought of the boy getting to know the Auror and opted to at least look for the Auror to get him to stay clear.)_

Thirdly, Harry Potter was someone who really knew how to multi-task. While Ravenclaws were known to do a few tasks at a time to deal with their workload, Harry Potter seemed to take it to a new level of competency. It was a common sight for people to see stacks of books on tables where Ravenclaws tend to work at, it was another thing that for a first year to effectively charge through his homework quickly and efficiently, before working on some practical experiments that he thought up on the spot, and helped others with their work in the process. There were rumors that the first year had followed the tradition of his seniors to commandeer an empty classroom to run such tests, though no one but Professor Flitwick and possibly the Headmaster would know.

Fourth point, Harry was not someone you want to get on his bad side. Normally a happy-going boy with an air of maturity somewhat advanced for his age, Harry Potter did have moments that he would be serious and moments when he could get angry. The thing about his anger was that he would not explode as most would; oh no, he seemed to channel it inwardly and speak extremely formally that reminded people of a wolf ready to bite the person's neck. Two examples came to mind:

The first came from Draco Malfoy who supposedly attempted to pull a power introduction over him while ignoring the other students Harry was talking to and be downright rude to Hermione Granger and one other muggleborn. In a manner that certainly baffled others since he was muggle-raised, Harry politely and firmly chastise Draco Malfoy on his manners in regards to greeting his fellow heirs and how he was effectively 'acting like an uncultured commoner' just because he had ideas regarding those like Hermione Granger. By the end of it, Draco apologized sheepishly and left to rethink his words while those around Harry were trying to understand how he knew all of that, and the older students from Darker Aligned families keeping a closer eye on him.

The second example came from one Ronald Weasley, one of the students that had missed the sorting on their arrival. Having gone into Gryffindor, the red head had appeared on Wednesday of the first week and proceeded to follow Harry Potter whenever he appeared, constantly calling him 'his mate' and trying to get him to sit beside him or to come to Gryffindor on the basis that they were more fun compared to 'the boring bookworms, the duffers, and the bunch of slimy snakes'. It was also clear to everyone with a pair of eyes and brains that Potter was not impressed with the redhead and had already told him off on calling people names and his rudeness.

That did not seem to work, if anything the rude boy had gone further to try and be friends with him, all while calling Neville Longbottom a Squib and the muggleborns derogatory names, pushing people roughly to get to Harry, and at one point roughly grabbed Harry by the arm despite repeated warnings. That was when Harry proceeded to let loose his tongue lashing in the Great Hall during their meal and told him in no uncertain words that they were not friends, he was being extremely rude and lazy, and he should be apologizing to those he had been rude to. Ron did not like that and tried to punch him, only for Harry to step to the side and let him fall. This kept on going while the staff in the hall notably did not come forward. That soon changed when Hermione berated Ron for his actions and the boy retaliated by pulling out his wand to do something when Harry got in front of her and raised a hand in time to actually smack the hex back at Ron without his wand, causing him to vomit out slugs. Before the other staff actually moved, Flitwick had just entered the hall and immediately took charge, finding out what had happened before handing Ron Weasley a detention.

And yet, it appeared that even with the good reason and the witnesses, Ronald Weasley would not be heavily punished, merely getting point reduction and a warning without the detention, while Harry Potter was evidently summoned to see the Headmaster after the incident by his head of house. Despite the issue, it would seem that Harry Potter was more or less expecting this to happen and merely rolled his eyes as he got up from his seat, muttering something about politicians and agendas.

And so, as Harry was nearing the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office, one thought came to mind.

He was off to see the wizard.

The Manipulative Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Hmm… That rhymed a lot better in his head.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Hope you enjoy this chapter, I might try to get another chapter out before the end of the year, but I will be focusing on my other story for the time being.

Until then, I put my pen down for now...


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